Luck of the Draw
by jellybean96
Summary: She's a famous singer. He's a single dad. If it weren't for that little girl, they might not have ended up together. I guess you could call it the luck of the draw.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi babes! So, here is the first chapter of _Luck of the Draw_. I really hope that you enjoy this one.  
>Just so that you all know, I have most of this story actually completed, just a few tweaks here and there to finish it. This is a first for me, having a story mostly done when I upload it. So I will be probably update every Saturday, because I love you all so much. And, since i have many of the beginning chapters completed, I won't have to wait a month while i write one, and then upload it.<strong>

**And now, enjoy! **

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><p>*June 2, 2014, 2:50 pm*<p>

"Daddy!" The little brunette girl exclaims as soon as she steps out of the front doors of the school to see her father standing outside waiting for her. She turns to her teacher, points to where her dad is, elbow bumps her teacher, and then bee lines it straight for her dad.

"What's up, bear?" he smiles at her as he picks her up and sets her firmly on his hip. "How was school today?"

"It was okay." She shrugs.

"Just okay?"

She looks down and starts playing with the collar of her dad's shirt, "Nobody talked to me again. Or played with me outside during recess. They all think I'm weird."

"I'm sorry, Sara. That's their loss though, because they can't see how much fun you are. But I know a way to fix that."

"Ice cream?" Sara asks, looking up at him.

Her dad, Grant, smiles, "Yeah. Ice cream."

"Can we take some to Gramsy, too?" she asks her dad.

"Of course we can," he smiles at her.

"Yes!" she exclaims, "Let's go!"

Grant chuckles, "Alright, bear." He sets her down on the ground and grabs her hand, leading her across the street and towards their car. "Buckle up," he reminds his daughter, as he climbs into the driver's seat of the car.

"I know," she tells him. "Now come on, let's go. I want ice cream."

"Alright, calm down." He starts the car and backs out of the parking space.

"Hey daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"You're the best daddy ever." She smiles at him innocently from the back seat of the car.

He sighs and glances at her through the rear view mirror, "What do you want, Sara?"

"Why do you think I want something?" she asks him.

"Because," he says, "you're a devious little eight year old girl. And you're being super sweet, which hardly ever happens."

She sighs, "Fine. I have a request."

"What is your request?"

"Will you play my Skye CD?"

"Really? You want to subject me to listen to that music?"

"Yes," she responds, throwing a big smile at him. "And because I'm your _favorite_ daughter, you'll play it for me."

"You're my _only_ daughter, Sara." He rolls his eyes at her wide smile and batting lashes, and then sighs, "Fine. I'll put your CD in."

"Yes!" she pumps her fist in the air in victory.

"Here we go," he says, grabbing the CD from the organizer above him on the sun visor, and slips it into the CD player, "Why do you even like this Skye girl so much anyways? What's so great about her?"

"She's awesome! She's really pretty, she has really good songs, and she's really nice."

"How do you know she's nice? You've never met her," Grant points out.

"I know that. But I've seen a bunch of videos on YouTube of her meeting her fans, and she seems really nice when she meets them."

"If you say so," he says.

"I do," she says determinedly. "And you know what's awesome?"

"What?"

"Skye is having a concert in town next weekend and I really wanna go."

"Why don't you?"

"I need tickets, daddy. And I don't have any money for tickets. And I can't enter the contest to get tickets by myself, because I'm only eight. And I know you can't buy them for me, because you don't get paid very much from your job, so the money that you _do_ make has to go to the bills and other really important stuff."

Grant's face falls at hearing the sadness in his daughter's voice, "I know, bear. I'm really sorry."

"And you know what sucks even more?"

"What?"

"Her concert is the day before my birthday, and it would have been so cool to go."

"I'm sure it would have been," Grant says, glancing at his daughter in the rearview mirror, to see her slightly sulking.

"I bet Skye would talk to me," he hears her mutter under her breath.

A minute later, Sara instantly perks up and gets excited, forgetting about all of her problems, "Oh, I love this song!" she exclaims, "Turn it up, please!"

Grant chuckles and turns the music up, listening to his daughter sing along to her favorite song by Skye. He smiles as he watches her sing and dance in the backseat, and it's then that he has an idea. The perfect idea.

* * *

><p>*4 pm, Nursing home*<p>

"Hey Gramsy?" Grant asks, as he lifts his gaze from his laptop screen, to look at his grandmother sitting in the chair across the room from him.

"What is it, sweetheart?" she asks him, not looking up from her knitting.

"Do you know what the website is for that singer Sara likes?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Sara really wants tickets to go and see Skye perform next weekend, and I thought that I'd enter this contest they're having, to try and get some tickets. And if I win, I'll take her. As a birthday present."

His grandmother looks up from the scarf she is knitting and smiles at him, "Well that's sweet. And I don't remember the exact name of the website, but you can probably type in something like, _Skye, ticket contest_, in Google, and you should be able to find it that way."

"Thanks Gramsy." Grant smiles.

"You're welcome, sweetie." She gives him one last smile before going back to her project.

Grant puts his attention back on his laptop, clicks on Google, and types what his grandmother suggested. _Skye, ticket contest_. He hits enter and then waits. When the search finishes, he glances at the results. The first one looks promising, so he clicks on it.

The page loads and instantly, Skye's latest song blasts through his computer speakers. He winces, and then quickly hits the mute button on the keyboard.

"They really should make that optional." He mumbles to himself.

Grant takes a minute to glance around the webpage, searching for any sign of the contest. At the top of the screen, right under the webpage letters, he sees the link for the contest page.

WIN TICKETS TO A SKYE CONCERT IN LOS ANGELES!

He clicks on the link and waits as the new page loads. When it finishes, he begins filling out at the correct information.

_Name: Grant Ward_

_Birthday: March 25, 1989_

"Okay," he breathes out, looking at the final component for entry into the contest, "Why do you want to win these tickets?" he thinks for a moment and then begins typing, _"My daughter, Sara, really loves Skye, and her music. She is completely obsessed. She's not the most liked kid at her school, but when she's listening to Skye's music, it's like none of that seems to bother her at that moment. She's always going around singing Shake It Off, because according to her, she can relate to it, which makes it her favorite song. She's told me a few times about how going to a Skye concert would be a dream come true, the best thing to ever happen to her. She doesn't know that I am entering this contest to try and win the tickets for her. But if I do win, I am going to take her to the concert as her birthday present. Her birthday is the day after the concert, and I know that it'll mean the world to her to be able to go. I don't want whoever is reading this to think I said any of this to make you to feel sorry for her, it's all just the honest truth. I may have gotten a little carried away while writing this, but she's my little girl, and I would do anything for her, especially if it'll make her happy. If you don't pick me, I completely understand, but I want thank you for this opportunity. –Grant Ward."_

"And done," he says to himself as he presses Submit. A second later, the screen changes, showing the sign reading, _Thank you for your submission._

* * *

><p>*6:30 pm, SHIELD Records*<p>

"Hey Skye," a tall, African-American man says he knocks on the door jamb of the room Skye has at the studio, peeking his head inside, "all of the entries for that contest are in. They're all printed out for you, you just have to read them and decide who gets the tickets."

"Thanks Mike," she smiles up at the man, "you really are the best, you know?"

"So you've told me about a million times," He smiles.

She smiles right back, "Oh, how's Ace doing?"

"He's doing pretty good, thanks for asking."

"No problem. That kid of yours is too cute for words. I miss him."

He chuckles, "Thanks, Skye. I'm sure he misses you too. Do you want me to bring all of the entries in here for you?"

She thinks for a moment, "Nah. I'll come out there. Just give me a minute."

"Sure thing." He smiles at her and then leaves the room, going back out to the main lounge area. Skye yawns and then stands up from her bed, bringing her phone with her, and goes out into the main room as well.

When she gets out into the main room, she sees a large stack of papers sitting on the table in front of the couch. She sighs as she sits down, pulling her legs up underneath of her, "Why did I agree to the type of contest where I have to read many, many things?"

"Because you're a nice person who wants to give two of your biggest fans in LA the best night of their life?" Mike suggests. Skye just smiles at him as she pulls the stack of papers towards her and begins quickly skimming through them.

* * *

><p>*20 minutes later*<p>

"How's it going, Skye?" Mike asks, walking back into the room.

"Almost done," Skye tells him, "on the last few entries right now."

"Good," he says, taking a seat in the chair on the other side of the table, "any idea on a winner yet?"

"Nope," she tells him, continuing to skim through the entries in front of her, "These are basically all the same thi—Hang on."

"What is it?" Mike asks, moving to sit next to her on the couch.

"This last entry," she says, picking the paper up from the table, "it's way longer than the rest. And it's from a guy, born in 1989. I was born in 1990, which means he's a year older than me. So that makes him, 25 years old."

"Really? That's kinda odd. Most of your entrants are girls. Usually the parents or older sister entering for the younger kid."

"I know." She replies, "Just give me a minute to read this one." She holds the piece of paper in her hand and reads through the entry, feeling something stir within her as she reads it. "Aww," she says when she finishes, "that's so sweet. He's entering the contest to win tickets for his daughter for her birthday. He doesn't say how old she is, but her name is Sara, and apparently her birthday is the day after the show. It's also sad because I guess people don't like her at her school, but my music helps her forget about all of the problems that she has as school. That's really, really sweet. His daughter doesn't even know he's entering this contest, and he's planning on taking her by himself."

"Wow. That is one dedicated father."

"Tell me about it," she says, "and this guy is definitely winning. He said he didn't want to make us feel sorry for his daughter, but I do a little bit. He is most definitely winning." She holds the paper out and hands it to Mike. "And I want to meet both him and his daughter. She really sounds like she could be my number one fan."

"You got it," he smiles, "I'll take this to get processed right now."

"Thanks Mike."

"No problem."

Skye watches as Mike leaves the room and smiles to herself. Pulling out her phone, she goes into Google and types in the name, _Grant Ward_. She waits for the search results to load and then begins scrolling through the list of results. She finds the link to a Facebook page with his name and clicks on it, waiting for it to load. When it loads, she takes a moment to admire his page. His profile picture is one of him, taken at a lower angle, and tilted slightly. She assumes that it must have been taken by his daughter when she was younger. In the photo, he's making a silly face, a smile clearly present. The cover photo on his page, is one of him and his daughter together. Their faces are side by side, and they are both smiling wide for the camera, their eyes shut tight, Sara having ice cream smeared all over her mouth. Smiling at the two very cute pictures, she begins scrolling through his posts. His posts consist of mainly things about his daughter, or his friends. There aren't a lot of posts, though, she notices. She scrolls back to the top of the page, she hesitantly clicks on the pictures tab, and waits for them to load as well. When they do, she notices that he only has a few photo albums on the page. She click on the first album, labeled, _Sara's First Year _and begins scrolling through the photos; most of them of his daughter, Sara, with the occasional cameo of him, or a few other people.

Most of the rest of his photos consist of the two of them together, large smiles on both of their faces. Every so often, there'll be a picture of Sara and another guy, around the same age as Grant, she assumes. Most likely a family friend.

She smiles to herself at seeing all of the pictures of Sara, he must really, really love his daughter, and then closes out of his Facebook page before she accidentally does something that she'll regret later. She sets her phone down next to her and leans her head back, a smile still on her face.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay. What did you all think? Honest opinions please. I really want to know what you guys think. I had had this idea for a story, where Grant was Skye's new bodyguard, but then it somehow transformed into this, and I can honestly say, that I am much happier with this one. I think it's going to be way more fun. <strong>

**So, there you go. See you all next Saturday with the second chapter. :)**

**Until next time,  
>Jellybean96 out! <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey babes! So, this one is getting up kinda late. Though, technically it's not really late, cause it's still Saturday where I live, so I'm still getting it up on the day I promised. Just, later than I intended. In my defense though, I did not realize that it was Saturday, because it's basically been one long weekend because of thanksgiving.**

**So yeah. But anyways, I want to give a quick thank you to everyone who is reading this. and to everyone who took the time to review, favorite, and/or follow this story. It makes me super happy to have all of your support. **

**And so, here's is the next chapter for you. :)**

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><p>*June 4, 2014*<p>

Walking into the front door of his house, Grant deposits his keys into the bowl sitting on a side table just inside the front door. He makes his way into the dining room, setting the pile of mail down on the table, and begins sifting through it. Gramsy's medical bills (pay as soon as possible), a few bank notices (go over as soon as possible), Sara's final report card (probably close to top marks in all aspects). But it's the final letter that really gets his attention.

"What the…" he trails off, staring at the return address on the top of the envelope, "It's from that ticket contest." Flipping the envelope over, he rips it open and pulls out the piece of paper folded up inside. He unfolds it, holds it in front of him, and begins to read it silently to himself.

_Dear Prize Winner,  
><em>_Thank you for your submission to our contest to receive two tickets to Skye's contest being held here in Los Angeles, California on June 13, 2014.  
><em>_Your entry has been read over and considered, and we would like to congratulate you on winning this contest for the concert tickets.  
><em>_Enclosed in the envelope, you will find two tickets to Skye's concert. Your tickets will allow you to sit in the front section of the stadium during the concert.  
><em>_Once again, thank you, and we hope you enjoy your time at the show.  
><em>_Sincerely,  
>S<em>_HIELD Records_

Smiling after he reads the letter, he looks inside to see two tickets, along with two laminated backstage passes. He pulls them out and looks at them, and then his eyes catch a piece of paper sitting inside the envelope. He pulls it out and reads it.

_Hi Grant. After reading a hundred or so entries for my contest, I finally got to yours, and I really read it, I didn't just skin. I just want you to know that I think what you did for your daughter is really, really sweet. That's why I picked you to win these tickets. Your entry was really touching, and thoughtful. You'll notice that you have two backstage passes in there as well. Those are there because I really want to meet you and Sara before the show, and I know that it'll make this birthday even more memorable for her. Just flash those badges to my guy Mike when you show up. He'll be waiting outside the entrance to your section of seats, and when you show him the passes, he'll bring you backstage.  
><em>_I can't wait to meet the both of you. :)  
><em>_Skye_

Grant lets a small smile slip at the note left for him by Skye. He always thought that the winners of these contests were randomly picked by a third party. Turns out he was wrong, and he's kind of happy about that fact.

He's never met this girl before, barely even pays attention when Sara listens to her music, yet oddly enough, he's really excited to go to this concert. Especially if he's going to be able to meet the person who seems to make his daughter forget about all of her problems. He just hopes she's as nice as the letter makes her out to be.

* * *

><p>"Hey Mike." Skye says as she walks into the lounge area to see her bodyguard leaning against one of the walls, messing around with something on his tablet.<p>

Mike looks up and smiles at her, "Hey Skye, what's up? Do you need something?"

"No, I don't need anything." She says, flopping down onto the couch, "I was just wondering if you mailed out that letter to the contest winner."

"Yes," Mike tells her, "I sent out the letter and tickets to the winner yesterday morning. And before you ask, yes. I included the special note and backstage passes in the envelope, just like you asked me to."

Skye smiles wide, "Thank you so much, Mike."

"No problem, kid," he says, "just happy that I could help." He turns around and begins to walk away, when he hears Skye call after him again.

"Mike!"

He turns back to face her with a smile, "Yeah?"

"When is that presentation for Ace's class that he wanted me to go? It's like a career day type of thing, right?"

"It's on Friday, I think. And yeah, all year they've been having each kid bring in someone that they know, to talk about what they do. And Ace convinced the teacher to give him the last spot. Something about wanting to top everyone else's presentation."

"I think it's really cute that he wants me to show up for Career Day." She smiles kindly.

"Yeah, he has this whole thing worked out. I guess he's going to introduce me first, telling everybody that I'm a bodyguard for famous people. I'm going to talk a little bit about my job. And then, he said that he's going to introduce the famous person I work for, and then that's when you'll come in."

"That's awesome. His class is going to freak out."

"And you'll probably be bombarded with requests for autographs and pictures."

"Good thing I'll have my bodyguard there to keep people in line." She gives him a wide smile.

"Yeah, there is that." He chuckles.

"So what time should I show up?"

"Well, his class starts at 8:30. So maybe, ten or fifteen minutes beforehand? He'll probably want you to wait in the hallway so that it'll be more of a surprise for the rest of his class."

"Sounds like a very well thought out plan. I will definitely be there." She smiles.

"Thanks a lot, Skye, for agreeing to come and do this. He really looks up to you, and it means a lot that you're willing to go to his class and talk a little bit about what you do."

"Like I said the first time you asked me to do it, it's not a problem. I love Ace; he's a really good kid."

"Yeah, he is." Mike smiles, thinking about his son.

"Well, tell him that I said hello, and that I'm looking forward to meeting his class in a couple of days."

"I will," Mike replies, "I'll see you tomorrow, Skye."

"Yeah," she smiles, "give Ace a big hug for me."

"Will do." He says, and then turns and makes his way from the room, towards the elevator.

Skye just leans back against the back of the couch, thinking about the prize winner, Grant Ward, and what she remembers him looking like from his picture, and how great of a father he seems like. She pushes herself away from the couch, pulling her phone out of her pocket, and sends a quick text to her best friend. She definitely needs to talk to another girl about this.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so I know it was kinda short, but I promise the next ones will be a little bit longer. I hope. So, let me know what you think in a review down below! I'd love to hear your thoughts.<strong>

**Quick plug: Raise your hand if you've seen the web series _Carmilla_. If you have, I love you, you creampuffs. If you haven't, go watch it. It's wonderful. There are 35 episodes up so far, and the last one comes out on Tuesday. It's really great. I love it. Binge watched the entire thing the other morning. It was definitely worth it. **

**Also, I'm still working on a super special birthday project for Chloe, and if any of you are interested, please let me know. I'd be happy to get more information to you. :)**

**Until next time,  
>Jellybean96 out! <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey babes! Thanks for all the love you guys have been giving me on this story. Means a lot.  
>And with that in mind, here's the next chapter for you guys.<br>Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

><p>*June 5, 2014*<p>

Skye pulls her car into the driveway of her best friends' house, putting it in park, and turning it off. She climbs out of her car, and begins to make her way up to the driveway towards the front door. She reaches for the door handle when a voice from behind her makes her stop.

"Excuse me? What do you think you're doing?"

Skye turns around and looks at the man in front of her, "I'm just going to go up and get drunk with Jemma, and then maybe do something completely reckless," she says nonchalantly.

The man smiles, "Of course. Go right ahead."

Skye laughs, "Hey Tripp," she smiles, walking towards the man to give him a hug.

"Hey Skye," he replies, hugging her back.

"Is Jemma in her room?"

"Yeah," he replies. "Go on up."

"Thanks Tripp," she smiles, turning around and walking away.

"Anything for my second favorite girl," he calls back. Skye just smiles and continues walking.

When she reaches Jemma's room, she steps up to the door and leans in, "Hey hey hey," she says, catching Jemma's attention.

Jemma whirls around in her desk chair to look at Skye, "Hey Skye," she says with a smile, "what brings you here?"

Skye walks into the room and drops her bag on the floor, going straight for Jemma's bed to sit down, "What, a girl can't come and visit her best friend without having a reason for it?"

Jemma just looks at Skye, "I've known you since we were kids, Skye. You always have an ulterior motive to everything you do."

"Whatever," Skye says, rolling over onto her stomach, "so, what were you looking at before I came in? Something naughty?" she wiggles her eyebrows at Jemma.

"No," Jemma says, "Steve sent over the pictures from my shoot last weekend."

"Ooh. How did they turn out?"

"Have a look for yourself," Jemma says, moving slightly so that Skye can get closer.

Skye scrolls through the photos, looking over each one carefully, "Damn girl!" She exclaims, "You look hot!"

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

"Thank you."

"I'm totally serious," she says, "you are really attractive. I still can't believe that you don't have a boyfriend yet," she says the last bit as she flops back down onto Jemma's bed.

Jemma rolls her eyes, "I've told you before, I'm…"

"…waiting for the right person," Skye finishes for her. She sits up and looks directly at her friend, "I know. And I've told _you _before, that it's not like anyone is expecting you to marry the first guy you find attractive. Just go on a few dates with him for a while to see if he is good for you."

"Yes, well, I'm not going to date just anyone, alright? So please, just drop it."

"Fine," Skye holds her hands up, "but there's something that I want to talk to you about."

"I knew there was something," she says.

"Hey, I take offense to that statement."

"Sure you do," Jemma rolls her eyes, "Now, what did you want to speak with me about?"

"Well, I want you to come to my show next Friday night."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You're my best friend, and I want you to come to my show."

"I've been to many of your other shows, Skye, without you having to beg me. So, why is this one so important?"  
>"Because, I'm meeting one of my fans."<p>

"You are?"

Skye nods her head, "She won the ticket contest I was holding, well, technically it was her dad who won, but his entry was super sweet, and I decided that I wanted to meet the both of them. So I threw in two backstage passes so I can meet them."

"You did?"

Skye nods her head again, "Yeah."

"And you're going to meet the both of them?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"And you want me there because…."

"Because I want this little girl to meet you too."

"Why me?"

"Well, I figured that if she's a fan of me, then she might be a fan of you as well, because we're always hanging out, and if she's as big of a fan that I think she is, then she'll know exactly who you are. Which means she'll be even more excited, and it'll be the best birthday she's ever had."

"You really want me to come along, don't you?" Skye smiles and nods her head eagerly. Jemma sighs, "Fine. I'll go to your show."

Skye beams and jumps from the bed to hug Jemma around the neck, "Yes! Thank you so much, Jemma! You are the best!"

"I know I am," Jemma smiles.

Skye pulls back, "Shut up. Now, I have a few more hours till I have to be at the studio. What should we do until then?"

* * *

><p>*June 9, 2014*<p>

"Hey Sara?" Grant calls up the stairs of the house, "can you come down here for a minute?"

A moment later, he hears her feet running full speed down the stairs, straight towards him. She stops on the bottom step and smiles up at him, "Hi daddy! What's up?"

"I have a very special surprise for you."

"Really? What is it?" she asks, bouncing up and down on her feet.

"It's a special birthday surprise."

"But my birthday isn't until Saturday."

"I know that. But I figured that you probably wouldn't want to wait until your birthday for this."

"I won't know until you tell me." She smiles.

"Right," he says, "well, you're going to have to guess."

"Come on, dad!" she exclaims, "Please don't make me guess."

"Sorry, bear," he shrugs his shoulders, "guess."

She huffs, "Fine. Is it, a new bike?"

"No."

"A car?"

"You don't know how to drive."

"A pony?"

"We'd have nowhere to put it."

"A boyfriend?"

"You're eight. And my little girl. So no."

Sara grumbles, "Fine. I give up. What did you get me?"

"Who is your most favorite person in the world?" he inquires, though he already knows the answer.

"You?"

"That sounded like a question. And nice try kissing up. But no. Someone who isn't family."

Sara crinkles up her nose, "This is a weird game."

"Just answer my question, Sara. The one person in the entire world, besides me or Gramsy, who you absolutely love."

"Um, Skye, my favorite singer. But I don't see why…" Sara trails off as Grant pulls his hands out in front of him. In each hand, he holds a ticket to Skye's concert and a backstage pass.

"What are those?" Sara asks, as she takes a step closer to her dad.

"Two tickets and two backstage passes to Skye's concert, this Friday night, here in LA." He smiles.

"No way," she says, stepping even closer. She looks up at him and smiles, and then jumps up into his arms. She wraps her arms around his neck while he wraps his around her tiny waist. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she exclaims, hugging him tightly.

He chuckles, "You're welcome, bear." He gently pries her small body from his and sets her down on the ground. "Are you excited?"

"Of course." She says, "I get to go to a Skye concert! And I have a backstage pass to meet her! This is the best birthday present ever!"

He smiles, "I'm glad you think so."

"Where did you get the tickets and the passes though?"

"Well, I won the tickets in a contest, and the backstage passes were a personal gift from Skye herself. She said that she wants to meet us."

Sara's eyes go wide, "Really? I don't believe you."

"Well you better believe it," he tells her, "because you and I are going to a Skye concert this weekend."

She beams up at him, "I can't wait! This is gonna be so much fun! Can I have my ticket and pass right now?"

"I think I better hang on to these. You have a tendency to lose things. Especially important things."

"No I don't."

"Yeah you do. Which is why I am going to keep these safe until the day of the concert."

Sara sighs, "Fine. But when we go to the show, I want to give the people my ticket, okay?"

"Sounds good. Now go play."

She smiles at him, "Thanks again, dad." She steps forward and hugs him around the legs, "you're the best dad ever."

Grant smiles at his daughter as she turns around and makes her way back up the stairs to her bedroom. Yeah, he knows he's the best dad ever.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright? So what did you all think? You like it? I hope so. Let me know your thoughts in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts. :)<strong>

**Also, to anyone still interested in participating in special project for Chloe, let me know. I'd be happy to tell you more. :)**

**Until next time,  
>Jellybean96 out! <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi babes! I'm back with a new chapter! :) **

**First off, who's still reeling from the winter finale? I am! Holy crap! It was ridiculous! If you guys want to, there is a great podcast that talks about each episode of AoS right after it airs West Coast time. Its on YouTube, it's AfterBuzzTV. They do a lot of shows on there. They break down the episodes, talk about the different plot points, talk about different theories, and even predict what they think might happen. There's also a guy on there as of late, Zach Wilson, and he really delves into the comic book aspect of it. It's a really great show. Go watch/listen to it. :) that was my plug**

**Now, a couple of guest replies.  
>Guest: Glad you're loving it. As for Sara's mom, she is not someone already in the AoS universe. She is completely from my own mind. You'll find out what happened to her soon. I think. <strong>

**Guest: Thank you! Glad you love it. Thank you for the character tag thing. I probably wouldn't have noticed unless someone said something. I totally thought that I had tagged them, so thanks for catching that for me. :)**

**And now, on with the story. :)**

* * *

><p>*June 13, 2014*<p>

Walking into her best friends bedroom, Jemma moves to sit on the bed, "Mike and Tripp are downstairs waiting whenever you finish," she informs her friend.

"Thanks Jem," Skye replies, applying the last of her mascara.

"So," Jemma says after a moment as she leans back on the bed, resting on her hands, "are you ready for your show tonight?"

"Just about," Skye says, slipping her earrings in. "And you remember that you're meeting the contest winners too, right?"

"Yes, and I know that I've said it before, but I think that it's amazing what you're doing for this little girl. Letting her meet you and everything, but what are you going to say to the people?"

"What people?"

"The people who try and make some false accusations about why you chose them winners of your contest."

"Oh. I'll just tell the truth. That I didn't know them. But they seemed like they'd be nice people, so I wanted to meet them. And I wanted to give this little girl a birthday that she'll never forget."

"Skye," Jemma sighs, "You are something different, you know that?"

Skye smiles wide, "I know. Now come on, let's go to my show." Skye loops her arm through her best friends' arm, and then pulls her out of the room and down the large flight of stairs.

When they reach the bottom of the stairs, Tripp and Mike are waiting at the bottom for them. Skye and Jemma both smile when they see their respective bodyguards. "Hello ladies," Tripp smiles, "are you ready to go?"

"I think so," Skye says, looking around her house. "Mack driving?"

"Yeah," Mike replies, "we should probably get going though if we want to beat any potential traffic."

"Right," Skye smiles, "are mom and dad already there?"

"I believe so," Mike says, "I think that they went up earlier in the day with Natasha. That way they could make sure that everything was ready by the time you got there. But if we want to get there with enough time for you to do a sound check before they open the doors, we need to get going."

"So bossy," Skye teases Mike as she and Jemma walk past the two bodyguards and out to the car. "Hey Mack!" she says to the driver as she opens the back door and slides in.

"Hey Skye," the man smiles at her in the rearview mirror. "Good to see you, Jemma."

"Hello Mack," Jemma smiles kindly at him. "How have you been?"

"Been doing pretty good, you?"

"I'm doing very well, thank you."

Once Tripp and Mike climb into the car, Mike turns slightly to look at Mack. "Alright Mack," he says, "We're ready to go."

"Okay," he says, starting up the car. "Let's get you to your show."

* * *

><p>"You know, you really didn't have to come over," Grant says to his best friend, Leo Fitz, as they sit in the living room, talking with one another.<p>

"I know that," the Scotsman replies, "but this is big. I wanted to see Sara off properly."

"It's not like she's going away forever. I'm just taking her to a concert."

"Yes, but this concert is a big deal. It's Skye, for crying out loud. One of the biggest names in the music industry."

"You really seem to know a lot about this girl," Grant says.

Fitz shrugs, "I just pay attention whenever Sara talks about her, is all."

"Uh-huh. Sure." Grant smiles, standing up from the couch. He moves over to the stairs and stands at the bottom, "Sara!" he calls up the stairs, "You have five minutes, and then you're butt better be down here and ready to go."

"Okay!" She shouts back.

Grant steps away from the stairs and turns back to face his friend, "I don't know why I decided to do this, Fitz," he says to him.

Fitz just smiles, "Because you're a father who loves his daughter and would do anything to make her happy."

"I guess so," he says back, "but I don't know if I'll be able to handle all of the screaming that'll be happening tonight during the show."

"Oh hush," he says, "It's not like you're going to die or anything."

"I don't know. I just might."

Fitz rolls his eyes at him and Grant just chuckles.

"Okay dad!" Sara exclaims, as she bounds down the steps. "I'm ready to go!"

Grant turns to look at her, and just smiles at her outfit. She's wearing a pair of blue jeans, and one of the Skye t-shirts that Gramsy bought for her, and her hair is pulled back into a ponytail. "You look great," he tells her, "are you excited?"

"Duh!" she says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Don't be rude," he says.

"Sorry," she apologizes, "Now can we please go? I don't want to be late to the concert!"

"Relax, Sara," Grant says, as he grabs his keys out of the bowl by the door, "We are not going to be late."

"You don't know that," Sara says, "what if there's an accident on the road or something, and we get delayed, and then we can't get to the show, and then Skye doesn't get to meet us, and I lose my chance of ever getting to meet her."

"You know what's going to make us late?" Grant says to his daughter.

"What?"

"You talking, now move. Go out to the car."

Sara smiles at him and then opens the door, running out to the car parked in front of their house.

"Bye Fitz!" Grant says back into the house. "Please don't destroy my house while I'm gone, and be gone before I get home."

"Bye!" he yells back, completely ignoring Grant's requests, "Have a good time."

"I'll try," he calls back, with a shake of his head, and then shuts the door behind him as he walks out to his car.

Climbing into the driver's seat, he looks in the rearview mirror as he starts the car, "You ready, bear?"

From her spot in the backseat, Sara nods her head vigorously, "Yes yes yes!"

"Alright, then let's go meet Skye."

* * *

><p><strong>So? What did you all think? Let me know your thoughts in a review down below. :)<strong>

**We're almost there guys. They're going to meet really soon! The next chapter will probably be going up late Friday night, or really early Saturday morning. I'm going to be gone pretty much all day next Saturday and I don't know when/if I'll get the chance to update that day. So I'll most likely upload it next Friday. Just a heads up. :)**

**Also, still looking for more people for special birthday project for Chloe. If you are interested, or you know anyone who may be interested, please let me know. Thank!**

**Until next time,  
>Jellybean96 out!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm posting a day early! I bet you are all very excited. :) And before you get all crazy, this is probably just a one time thing. I'm going out of town early tomorrow morning, and I'm going to be gone all day. By the time I get back, I'm most likely going to be too tired to update. So I'm updating a day early for you wonderful people. :)**

**I know that all of you have been getting excited for the meet-up, and I'm happy to tell you that it's here! **

**Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"I can't believe we're actually here!" Sara exclaims as she stares at the large stadium in front of her. "This is going to be the best night ever!"<p>

"I'm sure it will be, for you." Grant says, as he locks the car, making sure he has both tickets and backstage passes on him.

"You're not going to have a good time?" Sara asks him curiously.

"Not particularly, no. With a bunch of screaming little girls surrounding me, singing at the top of their lungs? No thanks. I'm only here because I know that you really want this."

Sara smiles, "That's why you're the best daddy ever!" She tells him.

"And don't you ever forget it," he says, "Now come on. Let's go inside so you can meet your second most favorite person in the entire world."

"But I don't need to meet you," Sara says to him.

He looks down at her and glares playfully, "Very funny. But I meant Skye."

"I know you did," she says, "I'm just really happy right now. This is going to be the best day ever!"

"So you keep saying," Grant smiles at his daughter as she walks slightly ahead of him, towards the entrance to the building. She's skipping excitedly, singing one of Skye's songs at the top of her lungs.

When they reach the front entrance of the stadium, Grant steps up, making sure Sara is beside him, "Hello," he says, "we're here for the Skye concert."

"Tickets?" the man at the counter says. Grant and Sara both hold up their own tickets. The man takes each of their tickets, looking at them. He then rips them in half, handing the stubs back to them. "Go right in," he says, "your seats will be in the section to the left."

"Thank you," Grant says, smiling at the ticket man. "Come on, Sara," he says, grabbing her hand so he doesn't lose her in the large crowd of people. Making their way through the crowd of people, Grant searches the stadium for Mike, the man Skye told him to look for.

When they reach the entrance to their section, Grant spots a tall, African American man standing just outside of it, "Hi," Grant says to the man.

"Can I help you?" he says.

"Yeah," Grant reaches down and grabs his backstage pass, holding it up, "Are you Mike? I was told to find you."

The man smiles, "So you're the contest winner. I'm Mike Peterson. Skye's bodyguard."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Peterson, I'm Grant, and this is my daughter Sara."

"Nice to meet you too. And please, call me Mike. Mr. Peterson is way too formal."

Grant smiles, "Alright, Mike."

"Stop talking guys," Sara whines, "I wanna go and meet Skye."

Mike smiles down at her, "Sara, right?"

Sara nods. "Good. I know that Skye is really looking forward to meeting you."

"Really?"

"Absolutely," Mike says, "I'm always hanging around Skye, so I know for a fact that she is very excited to meet you, little missy."

Sara smiles wide, "Cool. I can't wait to see her."

"Well then, follow me this way." He gestures for Grant and Sara to follow him. He leads them through the stadium, and down a bunch of back hallways.

"It's really dark," Sara points out after a while, grabbing tightly onto her dad's hand.

"I know," Mike says, "but don't worry. We're almost there."

* * *

><p>"Where is Mike?" Skye says to no one in particular as she paces back and forth backstage.<p>

"Relax, Skye," Jemma says, "they'll get here when they get here."

"I'm sorry," she says, "I'm just really anxious."

"Imagine how that little girl must feel," Jemma supplies.

"Right," Skye says, "she's probably even more nervous than I am."

"Why would _you_ be nervous?" Jemma asks her best friend curiously.

"Because," Skye begins, looking pointedly at the Brit, "From what I can understand, I am this little girls' hero. She looks up to me, and she's obviously one of my biggest fans. I just don't want to let her down if I'm not everything she imagined that I'd be."

"I'm sure she's going to love you," Jemma assures her.

"Thanks Jem," she smiles.

"Hey Skye!"

Turning around at hearing her name, Skye sees Mike advancing towards her. "Mike! Hey!"

"So," Mike smiles, "I have a couple people here who came to see you. Shall I send them in?"

Skye smiles back, "Of course."

"Great. One moment." Mike leaves the room and then a second later, two people enter the room. A small girl and an older man, most likely her dad. She watches the girl carefully as she enters the room. Her eyes are full of amazement as she looks around the room, taking everything in.

When the land little girls' eyes land on her, she sees a large smile grow on her face. "You're Skye!" she exclaims happily.

Skye laughs to herself and smiles, "Yes I am. And you must be, Sara."

Her eyes go wide, "You know my name? How?"

"I told you, bear," her dad speaks up from behind her, making her turn around to look at him. "She wanted to meet us. Don't you think she'd know your name if she wanted to meet you."

"You're right. Thanks daddy!" she wraps her arms around him in a hug.

He hugs her back, "You're welcome, Sara. Now go meet your favorite singer." He says into her ear.

"Okay," Sara smiles. She turns around and makes her way over to where Skye is. She stands nervously in front of her, "Hi," she says quietly.

"Hey," Skye says, kneeling down in front of Sara. "So, I heard that you are a huge fan of mine." Sara nods her head. "Well that's great," Skye tells her, "because it'd be kind of weird for you to be here if you weren't a fan." Sara smiles and giggles. "And there's a smile. That's what I like to see on my fans."

"Can I get a picture with you?" Sara asks hesitantly.

Skye smiles instantly, "Of course you can! I'd be sad if you didn't want one."

Sara smiles wide and then turns to her dad, "Daddy! Can you take my picture with Skye?"

"Sure thing, bear," he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. Sara turns back to Skye and moves to stand next to her.

Grant smiles and positions the camera so that it's focused on Skye and Sara. "Say cheese," he tells them.

"Cheese!" Skye and Sara say at the same time. Grant presses the capture button and then pulls his phone forward to look at the picture.

"Hey Sara," Skye says to the little girl, "I really like your shirt."

Sara glances down at her shirt for a moment before looking back up at Skye and smiling wide, "Thanks! My Gramsy bought it for me for my birthday last year."

"Well your Gramsy definitely loves you," Skye smiles.

"Hello. Would you mind if I join in with the next photo?"

Sara whips her head around to see Jemma Simmons standing just off to the side, a nervous smile on her face. Sara's own smile widens, "You're Jemma Simmons!"

"Yes I am," Jemma replies, stepping forward. "And you must be Sara."

"You know my name too?"

"Of course I do," Jemma smiles, "Now, how about that picture?"

"Yeah," Sara smiles, "dad," she turns around to face Grant, "Can you take another one, please?"

"Sure," he smiles, holding his phone back up as the three girls get in position. Sara is in the middle, with Skye and Jemma on either side of her, crouched down to her level. All three have smiles on their faces, Sara is smiling the widest.

Grant lines up his phone with the three girls in front of him and then snaps the picture. Grant smiles at the wide grin on his daughters' face.

* * *

><p>Smiling down at the little girl in front of her, Skye listens as Sara explains to her about how she became a fan of hers. She is talking excitedly, using her hands as she speaks to her favorite singer.<p>

"Five minutes till show time," the producer of the show announces as he steps backstage briefly and then back out.

"Thank you," Skye smiles at him before turning back around to face Sara. "I have to finish getting ready for the show now, Sara, which means that you and your dad need to head over to your seats so you don't miss anything." She smiles down at her.

"Oh, okay," Sara says. She waits for a moment before stepping forward and hugging Skye around the waist. "Thank you."

Skye smiles and hugs her back, "You're welcome."

When Sara pulls back, she smiles one more time at Skye before turning around and making her way towards her dad. "Come on, dad," she grabs his hand in her own, "let's go and find our seats so we don't miss the show."

He chuckles, "Alright, bear. Just give me one minute, okay? Can you go and wait just out there with Mike?" he looks up at the older man, "You don't mind, do you?"

Mike smiles and shakes his head, "It's fine. I've got a son about her age. Come on, Sara. Let's go and wait for your dad."

"Okay," she smiles at him.

When Sara and Mike leave, Grant turns back around to face Skye. He shoves his hands in his pockets, giving her a small smile, "I uh, I just want to thank you personally. Sara's a really big fan of yours, and I know that this absolutely meant the world to her."

Skye waves him off, "It's no big deal. She's such a sweet girl. I'm just glad that I could make this a really memorable birthday for her."

"You really have," he tells her, "I know that she's never going to forget this."

"I hope she doesn't," Skye smiles at him, "I'm sure she's going to tell her mom all about it when the two of you get home."

Grant shifts on his feet, "Um, actually, her mom isn't in the picture. It's just me and her."

"Oh," Skye says, suddenly feeling something stir within her. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Grant tells her, "You didn't know." There's a bit of silence for a moment, while the two adults just stand in front of each other, not knowing what to say.

Skye speaks up then, "Right. Well, I better go and finish getting ready for the show."

"Yes," Grant says, "and I better take Sara to find our seats. I look forward to the show." He smiles at her.

"I hope the both of you enjoy it," she smiles back.

"I'm sure Sara will immensely," he smiles and then turns around and makes his way out of the backstage area towards his daughter. "Okay, Sara," he says, "let's go find our seats."

* * *

><p><strong>So? Was the meet up everything you hoped it would be? Let me know your thoughts in a review below. I'd love to know what you think. :)<strong>

**Also, still looking for super awesome people who are interested in my special birthday project for Chloe. If you're intrigued, drop me a line and let me know. :)**

**Until next time,  
>Jellybean96 out! <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey babes! Here's the newest chapter for all of you! I honestly almost forgot to post this chapter, because I didn't realize it was Saturday. That's all thanks to having everybody home all day everyday for the last week. But oh well, I remembered about it, so I'm posting this. **

**I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas, or Hanukkah, or if you aren't religious, just a great week in general. I got some pretty good gifts from my family. And I did pretty well with the gift giving as well. :)**

**And now, on to the story.**

* * *

><p>"Alright," Grant says, leading Sara through the rows of seats in the front section of the stadium, keeping a tight hold on her hand, "I think these are our seats right here."<p>

"I still can't believe that we just met Skye," Sara says to him, her emotions still reeling from just a few moments before. "And Jemma Simmons! The model! She's so much prettier in person. They both are."

"Were they everything you thought they'd be?" Grant asks his little girl.

Sara nods her head, "And more."

"Well I'm glad," he smiles, "Are you ready for the show to start?"

"Totally!" She exclaims, bouncing excitedly in her seat. "This is going to be such an amazing show!"

"I'm sure it will be," Grant says, smiling down at her.

Suddenly, the lights dim in the stadium, and all of the young girls in the crowd start screaming. _"Hello Los Angeles!"_ they hear from somewhere in the stadium. _"Are you ready to party?!"_

The crowd screams louder, and Grant uses all of his willpower not to cover his ears with his hands, like a small child hearing a fire alarm for the first time. The lights in the stadium flash all around, causing the people in the stadium to go even crazier. The light show stops suddenly, and a single spotlight appears in the center of the stage, Skye standing in the middle of it. She has a microphone in her hand and a smile on her face.

"Skye!" Sara screams happily along with the rest of the crowd. "Woo!"

The music starts and everyone watches as Skye begins singing and dancing across the stage, putting on the best show that she can for her fans.

* * *

><p>"You guys are so amazing!" Skye says into the microphone as she stands at the front of the stage. The crowd cheers again, and she smiles. "Alright, so unfortunately, this next song is going to be the last one for the night." The crowd groans. Skye smiles, "I know, I know. But it has to end sometime, right? However, before I sing this next and final song, I want to say something real quick. I was originally planning on singing this next song a little bit earlier in the show, but then I learned something very important, and decided to sing this one last. Tomorrow is a very special day for someone out there in the audience. Tomorrow is the birthday of a brand new friend of mine, and I had the wonderful opportunity to meet her earlier before the show. Her name is Sara. Happy Birthday, Sara, I'm so glad that you are here and that I got to meet you." Skye manages to find Sara in the front section of the crowd and then waves and smiles at her. "I heard that this next song is your favorite song of mine, so this one goes out to you."<p>

The band begins the music and Sara's eyes widen. She screams with joy. "I love this song!" she says, turning to face her dad, a wide grin on her face.

"I know you do," he smiles.

Sara maintains the smile on her face and sings along with Skye, waving at her as she is up on the stage performing.

**I stay out too late  
>Got nothing in my brain<br>That's what people say, mmm-mmm  
>That's what people say, mmm-mmm<strong>

**I go on too many dates**  
><strong>But I can't make 'em stay<strong>  
><strong>At least that's what people say, mmm-mmm<strong>  
><strong>That's what people say, mmm-mmm<strong>

**But I keep cruising**  
><strong>Can't stop, won't stop moving<strong>  
><strong>It's like I got this music<strong>  
><strong>In my mind<strong>  
><strong>Saying, "It's gonna be alright."<strong>

Reaching down into the crowd, Skye grabs one of the cameras being held by one of her fans and brings it on stage with her. She turns the camera so it is facing her and keeps on singing while filming herself first, and then the crowd.

**'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play**  
><strong>And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate<strong>  
><strong>Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake<strong>  
><strong>I shake it off, I shake it off<strong>

Handing the camera back, she stands up straight and continues singing.  
><strong><br>Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break  
>And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake<br>Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake  
>I shake it off, I shake it off<strong>

**I never miss a beat  
>I'm lightning on my feet<br>And that's what they don't see, mmm-mmm  
>that's what they don't see, mmm-mmm<strong>

**I'm dancing on my own (**dancing on my own**)  
>I make the moves up as I go (<strong>moves up as I go**)  
>And that's what they don't know, mmm-mmm<br>that's what they don't know, mmm-mmm**

**But I keep cruising**  
><strong>Can't stop, won't stop grooving<strong>  
><strong>It's like I got this music<strong>  
><strong>In my mind<strong>  
><strong>Saying, "It's gonna be alright."<strong>

**'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play**  
><strong>And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate<strong>  
><strong>Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake<strong>  
><strong>I shake it off, I shake it off<strong>  
><strong>Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break<strong>  
><strong>And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake<strong>  
><strong>Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake<strong>  
><strong>I shake it off, I shake it off<strong>

**Shake it off, I shake it off,**  
><strong>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,<strong>  
><strong>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,<strong>  
><strong>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off<strong>

**Hey, hey, hey  
>Just think while you've been getting down and out about the liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world,<br>You could've been getting down to this sick beat.**

**My ex-man brought his new girlfriend**  
><strong>She's like "Oh, my god!" but I'm just gonna shake.<strong>  
><strong>And to the fella over there with the hella good hair<strong>  
><strong>Won't you come on over, baby? We can shake, shake, shake<strong>

Grant isn't quite sure, but he thinks that he sees Skye make eye contact with him and then wink at him with a smile on her face. He has to shake his head for a moment to clear those thoughts from his head, because that definitely couldn't have happened.

**Yeah ohhh**

**'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play**  
><strong>And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate<strong>  
><strong>I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake<strong>  
><strong>I shake it off, I shake it off<strong>  
><strong>Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break<strong>

**And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake  
>Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake<br>I shake it off, I shake it off**

**Shake it off, I shake it off,**  
><strong>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,<strong>  
><strong>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off<strong>  
><strong>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off<strong>

**Shake it off, I shake it off,**  
><strong>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,<strong>  
><strong>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,<strong>  
><strong>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off<strong>

As she sings, she bends down to the front row, touching hands with many of the fans there.

**Shake it off, I shake it off,  
>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off (<strong>you've got to**),  
>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off,<br>I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off**

The music ends and the crowd cheers even louder. Skye smiles down into the crowd and waves to all of her fans. She blows kisses out into the crowd as well.

Bringing the microphone back up to her lips, she speaks, "I want to thank you all so much for being here tonight. You guys are all so wonderful. I love you all so much, goodnight and be safe on your way home."

The lights in the stadium dim and Skye walks off the stage back to where her parents and best friend are waiting for her.

Out in the crowd, as the house lights turn back on, Sara remains facing the stage, her eyes wide and a smile on her face. Grant just watches her and waits for her to move. When she does, she turns to her dad and smiles up at him, "That was such an awesome concert," she tells him, "and Skye said that we're friends now. In front of the entire stadium. And she wished me a happy birthday in front of everyone too. That was so cool."

"I know," Grant smiles down at his daughter, "I was standing right here the whole time, bear."

"Thanks for bringing me, daddy." She wraps her arms around him in a hug.

"You're welcome, bear." He hugs her back. "Now come on. Let's go and get some ice cream before we go home."

"Really?" Her smile widens.

"Really."

"Yes!" She grabs his hand in hers and begins trying to drag him out of the stadium. He just chuckles and follows her as best he can through the crowd of people and out to the entrance of the stadium.

* * *

><p>"Daddy?" Sara speaks up as they enter the front door of their house.<p>

"Yeah?"

"Can I borrow your phone for a minute?"

"What for?" he asks, sitting down on the couch.

"I want to tweet the picture you took tonight. I'm going to post it so that Skye and Jemma can see it."

"Sure, but just twitter; come give my phone back when you're all done." He pulls his phone out of his pocket and tosses it to her and then makes his way down the hallway to his bedroom. Sara walks over to the couch and lies down on it, unlocking her dad's phone. Clicking on the twitter icon, she waits for it to load. When it does, she taps on the New Tweet button, and then the Upload Photo button. She selects the picture of her, Skye, and Jemma from the camera roll. When it loads, she begins typing her tweet.

_ Sarabear: RealSkye JemmaS had so much fun backstage tonight with you guys. Thanks for making this the best birthday ever! :)_

Satisfied with her message, she hits the tweet button and watches as it sends the message out into the Twitter world. After a quick moment, Sara gets a new twitter notification. She clicks on the Notifications tab and looks at the top two. Skye favorited her tweet, and replied to it. With a smile on her face, she clicks on the notification to fully read what it says.

_ RealSkye: Sarabear you are the one who made tonight so much fun! So glad that we met you! Now go to sleep :)_

Sara smiles at the words written to her by her idol. She's about to type back a reply when another notification comes in. It's from Jemma this time, in reply to her original tweet.

_ JemmaS: Sarabear Skye's right. You are super sweet, and very adorable. Glad that we could make this such a memorable birthday for you. _

Smiling even wider, Sara types in her own reply.

_ Sarabear: JemmaS RealSkye thank you. And fine, I'll go to bed. Good night :)_

Closing out of Twitter, Sara stands up from the couch and makes her way to her dad's bedroom. She opens the door to see him sitting up against his headboard, reading a book. Sara steps further into the room and moves over to the bed.

"Here's your phone, dad," she says to him, holding his phone out to him.

"Thanks sweetie," he takes his phone from her. "You ready for bed?"

"I just have to change into my pajamas and brush my teeth."

"Alright, well you go do that then. Goodnight."

"Night dad," she replies, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek.

"Night bear," he says back, smiling at her as she walks out of his room and in the direction of her bedroom.

* * *

><p>Once she is all ready for bed, Sara turns her bedroom light off and climbs into her bed. As she lies in her bed, she stares up at the ceiling, a smile still on her face. It still amazes her that she met her idol just a few hours ago. It was, hands down, one of the best moments of her entire life.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>So? What did you all think? Did you enjoy? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts. :)<strong>

**Until next time,  
>Jellybean96 out!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey babes! So sorry I didn't have this up yesterday. My computer was in the process of being de-virused, so I wasn't able to use it. But thankfully, it is all fixed now, so I'm able to put this up. It's later in the day than I would have liked, but I had to wait for my dad to find the disc I needed to install Mircosoft Office onto my computer. I'm going to stop with the rambling now.**

**To the guest who reviewed, begging me to upload today. Hopefully we're in the same time zone and you haven't gone to sleep yet. :) **

**And now, enjoy the chapter. I think you guys might like this one. Especially the end of it. :)**

* * *

><p>*June 14, 2014*<p>

Picking up her cell phone, Skye thinks for a moment, debating on whether or not she should actually call them. He'll probably ask how she managed to get his phone number, but it's a simple enough answer. She wasn't really being creepy or anything, she was just curious. And it was better than stalking him online. Even though she technically already did that with Facebook. But that's beside the point.

Finally deciding that she should just get it over with and stop worrying, Skye dials the phone number written on the orange sticky note in front of her. Holding her phone up to her ear, she waits impatiently for him to answer the call.

"_Hello?"_ the voice on the other end finally answers.

"Is this Grant Ward?" She asks, wanting to be sure that she has the right number.

"_Yes it is. Who I am speaking with?_" he asks her.

"It's Skye."

"_Skye?" _he repeats, and she knows he is surprised, to say the least. _"How did you get my number?"_

"Oh, yeah. I um, I had Mike look you up in the phonebook."

She can hear him chuckle, _"Right. So, what's up?"_

"Well, I have the day off today from well, everything, and I was wondering, if you guys are free, if you and Sara wanted to come and hang out with me for the day. I can show the two of you some of the best places in town and then take you to lunch; we can make an afternoon out of it. And I know it's on pretty short notice, so I understand if you can't. But I just thought that since today is Sara's actual birthday, we could make it even more fun."

"_Um, I think that should be okay, let me just check with Sara, see what she thinks."_

"Okay."

"_Hey Sara!"_ Skye hears Grant's muffled voice through the receiver, _"Do you want to go shopping and have lunch with Skye today?"_

Skye laughs when she hears Sara's squeals on the other side of the phone. _"Yes yes yes!"_

"_I think that's a yes,"_ Grant chuckles into the phone.

"Awesome," Skye replies, smiling wide. "I'll be there around 11:30."

"_Sounds great." _

"Cool. I'll come and get you guys then."

"_Wait,"_ Grant says before either of them can hang up, _"Do you need our address?"_

Skye smiles into the phone, "I have my resources."

"_Okay then,"_ he chuckles, _"I'll see you in a couple hours."_

"See you then. Bye."

"_Bye."_

Skye hangs up her phone and holds it against her chest, leaning back against the door of her bedroom. She takes a deep breath to calm herself down, and then pushes herself away from the wall. Walking to her closet, she begins finding the best clothes to wear out today. She definitely wants today to go well.

* * *

><p>*11:25*<p>

A knock at the front door causes Grant to put down his laptop and stand from the couch. He walks up to the front door and unlocks it, swinging it open. He smiles when he sees Skye standing on the porch. "Hey," he says.

"Hi," she smiles back, "are you guys ready to go?"

"I am, but Sara is taking a little bit longer. She says that she doesn't know what to wear."

"Why don't you help her?"

"I tried to, but apparently I'm not 'qualified enough' to pick out her outfit."

"Ah," she says, "well maybe I can help."

"Maybe you can," he says, opening the door wider and allowing her inside. "She's upstairs, her room is the door on the right."

"Cool. I'll see what I can do, then." Grant watches as Skye heads up the stairs to where his daughter is, as he himself makes his way back to the couch.

Skye makes her way up the stairs and turns to the door on the right hand side. The door is partially open, and she peers inside to see Sara in the middle of her room, clothes scattered all around her. Skye raises a fist and knocks on the doorjamb, catching Sara's attention.

"Skye!" she exclaims, looking up from her dresser.

"Hey Sara. Need some help?"

"Yes! Please! I don't know what to wear today."

"You can wear anything," she says, "Whatever you decide to wear out, I'm sure it'll be perfectly fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," Skye tells Sara, smiling at her. "Mind if I take a look?" she asks, gesturing to the dresser and the pile of clothes on the floor.

"Okay," Sara agrees.

Skye walks forward and begins rummaging around through the large pile of Sara's clothes. She takes a few minutes, looking at a few different pieces of clothing. After a little while, she holds up a couple pieces of clothing. "Here, try this."

Sara looks at the clothes, and then smiles, "It's perfect," she says to Skye.

Skye smiles back at her, "Alright. I'll let you put that on. I'll be downstairs waiting with your dad."

Sara smiles and nods her head, "Okay."

Skye turns and walks out of the bedroom, and back down the stairs. When she reaches the bottom, she sees Grant sitting on the couch, working on his laptop. "Hey," she says, walking towards the couch and sitting down next to him.

"Hey," he smiles at her. "Did you find something for Sara to wear?"

Skye nods her head, "Yep. She should be down in a minute."

"Good," Grant says, "Was the drive over here fine? Was it too difficult finding the house?"

Skye shakes her head, "Nope. The drive was nice. Very enjoyable."

"I'm glad," he smiles.

"I'm ready to go!" Sara announces as she bounds down the stairs, a smile on her face. She makes her way over to them and stops in front of the couch.

"Okay," Grant says, closing his laptop and setting it down on the coffee table, "Who's hungry?"

"Me!" Sara exclaims, throwing her hand up into the air. "I am."

Grant just smiles, "Then I guess we should go out and eat." He turns to Skye, "Do you want me to drive?"

She stands up from her seat, "I got it. Thanks for the offer though. Everything today is my treat, so I'm going to drive. Also because I know where we're going, and you don't." She gives him a small smile.

"Alright then," he smiles back, standing from the couch, "let's go."

* * *

><p>Walking out the front doors of the restaurant, Skye, Grant, and Sara all head for Skye's car. Sara is carrying a to-go box, not having been able to quite finish all of her lunch.<p>

"That was such a good lunch," Sara says as they stop at Skye's car, waiting for her to unlock the doors. "Their French fries are amazing."

"I'm glad you think so," Skye smiles, "I love to come here for lunch every once in a while."

"I can see why," Sara smiles back. Skye unlocks the car and all three of them climb inside to their respective seats.

"So," Skye begins, turning so that she can face both Grant and Sara, "shopping now?"

"Can we?" Sara asks excitedly.

"What do you say, daddio?" Skye asks Grant, "You up for some shoppin?"

Grant just looks at her, and then at his daughter in the back seat. They are both smiling wide, waiting for him to say something. He sighs, "Well, I realize that no matter what I say, you two are so dead set on going shopping, so we might as well just go shopping."

"You are a very smart man, Grant Ward," Skye says to him, turning back around in her seat. She puts the keys in the ignition and starts the car, backing out of her space. "Let's go shopping."

* * *

><p>Pulling up to the front of the house, Skye puts the car in park, and turns around to face Grant and Sara. "We have arrived," she smiles.<p>

"Is it really over?" Sara asks with a frown.

"Yes, bear," Grant says, digging in his pants pocket for his keys. "Now say thank you to Skye, and go inside and put your stuff away. I'll be inside in a minute to get started on dinner." He holds his house key out to her and she takes it.

"Thank you, Skye," she says with a smile, "I had a lot of fun with you today."

"You're welcome, Sara," Skye smiles back, "I had a lot of fun with you today, too."

Sara takes the keys from her dad and then grabs all of her bags, making sure to grab her to-go box from lunch, and then climbs out of the car. "Bye, Skye!" she waves as she makes her way up to the house.

Once she is inside, Grant turns around to face Skye, "Thank you for today," Grant smiles. "I know that Sara had a really great time."

"I'm glad she did. She's really fun to hang out with."

"I'm glad you think so, it definitely made her feel a lot better."

"That makes me really happy. She's such a sweet girl."

"Well thank you. I'd like to take all of the credit for her being that sweet, and I will." He smiles at her.

"You seem like a really great dad," she tells him.

"Thank you."

"I really mean that," she reaches out and puts her hand on top of his, smiling at him.  
>"Do you want to go out sometime?" he blurts out, and then cringes slightly at how it came out. "With me," he amends, "Would you like to go out sometime with me?"<p>

A small smile slowly spreads across Skye's face, "Yes, I would."

"Really? Because you don't have to if you don't want to."

"No. I want to. I want to go out with you."

A wide grin spreads across his face instantly, "Oh. Wow. Great. So I'll uh, I'll call you later and we can figure out what day works best for the both of us."

She nods her head, "Yeah, sure. Um, you should have my number in your phone from when I called."

"Actually," Grant says, "that wasn't my cell. That was the home phone number that was in the phonebook. Not my cell."

"Oh, well then maybe," she reaches into her coat pocket, pulling out her phone. She quickly unlocks it and then holds it out to him with a smile, "you should give me the correct number."

He smiles back at her and then takes her phone from her. He looks down at it and then clicks on Contacts, tapping on the New Contact button. He quickly enters in his information, and then hands it back to her.

She smiles at him, and then taps on the Add Contact Photo button. She holds it up in front of his face and looks at him, "Smile."

"What? Why?"

"I'm adding a picture to your contact," she tells him, "now smile nice."

He sighs, "Fine." Sitting up straighter, Grant clears his throat and smiles wide, showing off his teeth, the smile reaching all the way up to his eyes.

Skye snaps the photo and then holds the phone down in front of her, looking at the picture. "Very handsome," she smiles.

"Thank you," he says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls his phone out and unlocks it, "Now _you_ need to give me _your _number." He holds his phone out to her.

She smiles at him and takes his phone, putting her name and number into his contact list. Once done, she clicks on the Add Contact Photo button, and then hands the phone back to Grant. "Here, take my picture."

"Okay," he accepts his phone, holding it up to frame Skye's face in the screen. Skye sits up a bit, fluffing her hair just a bit before smiling wide at the camera. Grant captures the photo, holding the phone down to look at the picture he just took. "Beautiful," he smiles up at her.

She blushes slightly, "Thanks. Now, you better get inside."

"Right," he says, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "Thank you again for today. It was very fun." He turns and opens the car door, stepping out. He shuts the door and begins to walk towards his house when he hears Skye calling him. He turns back around to see her sitting in her car with the passenger window rolled down, she's leaning forward slightly.

"I look forward to your call," she smiles at him.

He smiles back. "And I look forward to your answer," he says, before turning around to face his house. Once he knows she can't see him, he cringes at his odd reply. _I look forward to your answer?_ He chastises himself internally. _Stupid._

* * *

><p><strong>So? Did you like it? I hope you did. Let me know your thoughts in a review down below. I'd love to hear what you think. :)<strong>

**Also, it's getting down to the wire, but I'm still looking for people to participate in my special birthday project for Chloe. PM if you think you might be interested. :)**

**Until next time,  
>Jellybean96 out!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey babes! Here's the newest chapter that I hope you've all been waiting for. The Date! Woo! And I added in a piece at the beginning that I didn't have originally, because I figured you guys would enjoy it.  
><strong>**So enjoy the chapter! :)**

* * *

><p>*June 16, 2014*<p>

Picking up his cell phone, Grant unlocks it, going straight to his contact list. He scrolls down the list until he finds the right contact he needs. Once he finds it, he clicks on the name, pulling up the contact photo and phone number. He looks at the photo for a moment, smiling at the beautiful woman smiling back at him. Taking a deep breath, he hits the call button, and then holds the phone up to his ear, waiting impatiently as the phone rings. He doesn't know why he's so nervous about this. He's never been this nervous asking someone out. And technically, he already asked her out, and she said yes.

"_Hey you've reached Skye!" _the recorded message says and he lets out a small breath he didn't know he'd been holding. _"Sorry I missed ya! This probably means that I'm in the studio working on my next hit, or I managed to sleep in somehow. Just leave me a message with what's important and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks! Bye!"_

The recording tone beeps and Grant's breath does a sharp intake. "Hey, Skye," he says quickly. "This is Grant. But uh, you probably already know that because my number, is in your phone, and this is a missed call..." he trails off. "Anyways, on Saturday, you said yes to going on a date. With me. So I am calling you to see if Friday night works for you. For our date. I was thinking maybe around 6:30. So yeah. Just uh, call me soon, well not too soon, just uh, whenever you—" the beeping of the voice mall cuts him off. Letting out a large sigh, he just hangs up, not wanting to check if he sounds like a bumbling idiot in the message.

**Hey, it's Skye. I got your message. Friday at 6:30 sounds great.  
><strong>_Awesome. I'll come by your house to pick you up on Friday then.  
><em>**Great. I can't wait. :)  
><strong>_Neither can I. :)  
><em>**So where are we going to go for our first date?  
><strong>_That is for you to find out and for me to…figure out.  
><em>**You don't have anything planned yet?  
><strong>_Nope. But I promise you that it will be great.  
><em>**So long as you are there, I'm sure it'll be perfect. :)  
><strong>_Thank you. I appreciate your confidence in me. It's very helpful.  
><em>**Glad I could help. :)  
><strong>_Me too.  
><em>_Oh. I just realized. I need your address so I can actually get to your place on Friday.  
><em>**I was wondering how long it would take you to ask for that. :)  
><strong>_Were you seriously just waiting for me to ask for your address? You weren't going to give it to me?  
><em>**Spot on.  
><strong>_You're cruel.  
><em>**Only slightly. ;)  
><strong>_More than slightly.  
><em>**:) Here's my address. 5385 Providence Dr. My house is on the left side.  
><strong>_Thank you. I'll see you on Friday.  
><em>**See you then. :)**

* * *

><p>*June 20, 2014*<p>

"You look very handsome, daddy," Sara says as Grant walks out of his bedroom and down the small hallway near the dining room, slipping his phone and wallet into his pocket. He's wearing a simple pair of black slacks, black dress shoes, and a nice, dark blue, button down shirt.

"Thanks bear," he smiles at her.

"Where are you going?"

"Out to dinner."

"With who?" Sara prods, shifting on her seat at the dining room table so that she is sitting up on her knees.

"I don't know if I should tell you," he says with a small smile.

"Come on daddy, please? Tell me tell me tell me!" She says, bouncing up and down slightly in her chair.

"Do you really want to know?" he asks her.

"Yes yes yes!"

"Alright," he says, bending his head down so that he can look her in the eyes. "I'm going out to dinner tonight, with Skye."

Sara's eyes go wide, "Really?"

"Really."

"That's so cool!" She smiles wide.

"I know," he smiles, "Now, I have to go and pick up Skye. Don't want to be late for the first date."

"No you don't," she agrees. "Can you tell Skye that I say hi?"

"I'll make sure that I do," he says, kissing the top of her head. He stands up fully and then watches as Sara turns back to the paper and coloring pencils around her and her babysitter, Rebecca. "Alright," he turns his attention to Rebecca, "She already had dinner, but if she wants to have a small snack in a little while, that's fine. But nothing too sugary. Since it's Friday, she can stay up, but make sure she still brushes her teeth, puts her pajamas on, the whole bedtime routine. She can do whatever she wants until I get home, but no more food after she brushes her teeth. I should be back in a couple of hours. I shouldn't be out too late."

"There's no rush, Mr. Ward," Rebecca tells him honestly, "it's a Friday night, so I don't have to be home any time soon."

"Okay," he says, "And like I've said before, Mr. Ward is too formal, call me Grant."

Rebecca smiles, "I'll try and remember that."

"Great. Sara, I love you and I'll see you later tonight." Sara stands up on her chair, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

"Love you daddy. Have fun."

"I will. Be good for Rebecca, okay?"

"I promise."

"Alright, see you guys later."

"Bye daddy!"

"Bye."

* * *

><p>Pulling his car up to the front of Skye's house, Grant puts it in park and shuts the engine off. He climbs out of the car and makes his way up to the front door of the large house. Straightening out his suit jacket, he takes a deep breath, before raising a fist to knock on the solid oak door in front of him. The door swings open to reveal Skye's dad standing in the doorway, a stoic look on his face.<p>

"Hello, sir," Grant says a bit nervously, "I'm here for Skye."

"I know," he says, folding his arms across his chest. "What are your intentions for tonight with my daughter?"

"Um...what?" Grant replies, unsure of how exactly to answer the question.

"It's a simple question. What are you intentions for tonight?"

"We're just going out to dinner, dad."

Grant looks past the intimidating man to see Skye approaching, dressed perfectly for their evening out. She's wearing a beautiful black dress that goes down to about mid-thigh, with a white sash tied around her waist, and a slightly plunging neckline with a white tank underneath of it. She's wearing a pair of black flats on her feet, and her hair is slightly curled, hanging down. "Hey Skye," he smiles, completely forgetting about her father in front of him.

"Hi Grant," she replies with a smile, gingerly stepping past her father. She turns around to face her dad, "I love you dad. Goodnight." She leans forward and presses a kiss to his cheek. Then she turns around and grabs Grant's hand in her own, pulling him down the sidewalk towards his car.

"I'm really sorry about him," Skye begins when they get into Grant's car, "He can be a little much sometimes."

"It's fine," Grant assures her, "I'm sure I'll be the same way when Sara starts dating. Though if I have my way, she won't be dating until she's well into her 30's."

Skye just shakes her head and smiles, "You're such a dad."

"Thank you," Grant smiles, starting the car. "Now then, time to begin our evening."

"I can't wait," Skye tells him excitedly as Grant pulls out of the driveway, "Where are we going? You told me on Wednesday that we're going to dinner, but you didn't exactly say where. I'm not too dressed up, am I? Or underdressed?"

Grant chuckles, "You look perfect," he says and then a blush quickly creeps up his face. Skye just smiles at him. Grant clears his throat, "As for where we're going, well, that's a surprise."

Skye pouts, "Come on, Grant. You can't just keep me in the dark like this."

"I can and I will. And don't think that any type of pouty face will work on me. Thanks to Sara, I am immune to the pouty face."

Skye huffs and folds her arms in front of her chest, "Fine. But it better be amazing."

"As I recall," Grant begins, "You told me that it doesn't matter where we go or what we do. As long as I am there. And I have the proof if you even try and deny it."

Skye rolls her eyes, a hint of a smile on her face, "Shut up and drive."

* * *

><p>"Wow," Skye says in amazement as Grant pulls the car up to the front of the restaurant. "This place looks absolutely amazing." She looks over at him, "No offense or anything, but how can you afford to bring me here?"<p>

Grant shifts the car into park and looks over at her, "Why Skye, are you insinuating that I am too poor to take you to a fancy restaurant for dinner?"

Skye's eyes go wide, "Oh my goodness! No! I swear that I didn't mean it like that, I'm so so sorry. I was just–"

Grant breaks into a smile and starts laughing, "Skye, relax. I'm just messing with you. It's fine. And if you really want to know, my best friend works here, as the head chef, and he kind of has an in with the owner. So whenever I need to, which is very rare, I'm allowed to bring my dates here for a nice meal. Or sometimes Sara and I will eat here on occasion. Free of charge."

"Really?"

"Well, I mean, I help them with certain things whenever they need it. Construction, wiring, that kind of stuff."

"That's so nice of you."

He shrugs, "It's nothing really. Now come on, let's go inside and eat."

"Thank goodness," Skye says, "I'm starving."

* * *

><p>"Hello," Grant says to the woman at the hostess stand.<p>

"Hello," she replies, "name?"

"Actually, I don't have a reservation on the list. But if you could let the head chef, Leo Fitz, know that I'm here, that would be great."

"Okay," she says, confused, "I'll be right back."

"Thank you," Grant says, watching as she walks away.

"She probably thinks you're crazy," Skye whispers to him, so as not to disturb any of the customers currently in the restaurant.

"I think she's new," Grant replies, "I've never seen her here before. I've met all of the other hostesses before, and I don't remember her. She probably doesn't know about the arrangement I have with Fitz."

"Oh," Skye says, "alright then."

"Grant Ward." Grant looks away from Skye to see Fitz approaching the front of the restaurant, dressed in his chef uniform, a smile on his face.

"Hey Fitz," Grant replies, wrapping the other man in a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm doing great. How's Sara?"

"She's doing pretty well. She wants you to come over again, soon."

Fitz smiles, "Tell her that I don't know if I want to after what she did the last time I was over."

Grant sighs, "You're a grown man, Fitz. Let it go already."

"Not until she apologizes for cheating."

Grant just rolls his eyes, deciding to change the subject, "Fitz, I'd like you to meet my lovely date for the evening, Skye."

"A pleasure to meet you," Fitz smiles at Skye, holding his hand out to her.

Skye accepts his hand, smiling back at him, "Likewise."

"Now then," Fitz speaks to both of the people in front of him, "if you'll both follow me right this way, I will show you to your table."

"Come on," Grant says, grabbing Skye's hand in his own, and leading her through the restaurant, right behind Fitz.

"Where are we going?" Skye asks him as they pass all of the regular tables in the restaurant.

"You'll see," is all Grant says back.

Skye sees them approach the kitchen doors and her eyes go wide, "Why are we going into the kitchen? Are we even allowed back there?"

"Relax," Grant tells her. They follow Fitz through the swinging double doors, and into the kitchen. They walk past all of the other cooks and waiters, Grant greeting them as he passes, and towards the back area of the kitchen.

"Your table," Fitz announces, gesturing to the center of the room. Skye takes a moment to let it all sink in. In front of her, stands a single, round, dining table, a chair on either side of it. It's complete with an elegant, white table cloth, two plates, two wine glasses, two sets of utensils, and even a small vase of flowers sitting in the center.

"This is beautiful," Skye says, looking up at Grant. "Really, really beautiful."

Grant smiles, "I'm glad you think so." He leads her over to the table, holding her chair out for her, allowing her to sit down.

"Can I start you off with some wine?" Fitz asks the two of them.

"Skye?" Grant says, looking over at her. "Any preference?"

She shakes her head, "Nope. Anything is fine with me."

Grant smiles, "Your best then," he tells his friend.

"Of course," Fitz says with a small bow and then leaves to retrieve the wine.

"Okay," Skye begins, "this is really amazing. And if the food here is as good as the service or the personal dining area, I think that this is going to be the best first date I've ever been on."

* * *

><p>"Skye?" Grant says as he swallows another bite of his brownie, "I know that I've already said it before, but I really want to thank you again for allowing me and Sara to go to your show last week. It meant the absolute world to her."<p>

"It wasn't a problem," Skye replies, digging her fork into her chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, "When I read through all of the entries, I thought yours was the best. I was really touched at how much you were willing to do for you daughter. Not many dads are willing to go to a concert like mine for their daughter. Even if she's their only daughter."

Grant smiles fondly, "Well, she's my angel. I'd do pretty much anything for her if it made her happy."

"That's sweet. She must really look up to you."

"I hope she does. I try to set a good example for her. It's hard for her sometimes though, I think, not having her mother in the picture. She has Gramsy, my grandmother, but she isn't always around because she's not doing so well."

"What happened to her mother? If you don't mind me asking. At the show, you mentioned that it's just you and Sara."

"It's fine," Grant says, glancing down briefly at his left hand. "I feel like I can tell you."

"Well you don't have to tell me anything that you don't want to. It's not really the kind of thing one expects to tell on a first date."

Grant smiles softly at her, "Sara's mother, Miranda, and I, we were together in high school. Halfway through our sophomore year we got together. A few weeks into our senior year we, well, we found out that we were going to be parents. We were both beyond terrified. And it didn't really help that my parents kicked me out and pretty much disowned me for getting a girl pregnant while in high school. Thankfully Miranda's parents let me stay with them for as long as I needed; they were always pretty nice to me, even though I got their only daughter pregnant in high school. And even though we were terrified, we agreed that we'd stick together and get through every obstacle as it came up."

"That's really good," Skye comments.

"I thought so too. But uh, not long after Sara was born, Miranda decided that she had changed her mind. She didn't want to be a parent at such a young age. So she left Sara with me and just took off. I don't know where she went, and I haven't heard from her since. At first I was angry, angry that she could just abandon her daughter like that. For a while, I was secretly hoping that she'd come back so we could raise Sara together, as a family. But over time I came to terms with everything, especially with the fact that she was never coming back."

"Wow." Skye says quietly. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay though," he assures her, "because Sara and I have been doing just fine on our own. Gramsy is always there to lend me some advice when I need it. Same with Miranda's parents, they're always a phone call away. And Fitz was willing to jump right in as the protective and loving Uncle that he is to Sara."

"How did you and Fitz meet? It seems like you've known each other forever."

"It wasn't long after I came here, actually. When Miranda left me with Sara, I decided that I needed to get a fresh start somewhere. Somewhere that wasn't tainted with memories of Miranda or what she'd done." He takes a deep breath to calm himself down. "So, when Sara was just a few months old, I moved out here to stay with my grandmother. That way I could be there for her if she needed me too. Miranda's parents were really supportive of me, too. They didn't, and still don't, resent me for bringing Sara out here. They even helped me financially, so that I was able to come here. They're still in contact with Sara, and she knows who they are, I never kept them from her. I want her to know them, and she does."

"That's great that they're so understanding."

Grant smiles, "Yeah. They've always been better parents to me than my own were."

"That's too bad."

He shrugs. "But anyways, I met Fitz at the mall. I was struggling to calm Sara down, and he came over and offered to help me. He told me that he always used to help his aunts and uncles with his cousins when they were little, and he did a bit of babysitting growing up, so he had some experience. I was hesitant at first, because I didn't even know him, but I eventually agreed to let him help me. He somehow managed to figure out that she had just started teething; and helped me find something for her to gum on to calm her down." He smiles at the memory. "After that, we just kind of clicked, started finding out that we actually had quite a bit in common. He was more than happy to take on the role of Sara's uncle, and I began seeing him as a brother or sorts."

"That's really sweet," Skye smiles.

"And even though things were pretty tough at first, they are a lot better now, and I wouldn't go back and change a single moment of it all."

Skye reaches across the table and covers his hand in her own, "That's really great, Grant. You're an amazing father, and I'm positive, without a doubt, that Sara knows it as well."

"Thank you," he tells her. "For everything. And I'm sorry that I threw all of that on you just now. Like you said, I never exactly planned on sharing so early on."

Skye smiles softly at him, "It's no problem. Now, why don't we head out? I think we're both pretty much done with our desserts."

"Yeah. And um, do you mind if we stop by my house? Sara is probably still up and I told her that I was going out with you tonight. So maybe, if you want, you could come by and say goodnight to her."

"I'd like that," Skye smiles.

Grant smiles back, "Awesome. Let's go."

* * *

><p>"Here we are," Grant says as they pull into the driveway. He puts the car into park and turns it off. "Home sweet home." He takes a moment to look at the house before getting out of his seat, and then walks over to the other side of the car and opens Skye's door for her.<p>

"Thank you," Skye says to him as he holds the door for her while she steps out. "Your house is adorable, it looks so cozy."

"Thanks," he replies, as they begin walking up to his front door, "I'll give the credit of the coziness to my Gramsy. It's her old place. Sara and I are just staying here until I can find us our own place. If we end up deciding to need our own place. But finding a place to live, and buying it, is definitely not as easy as it sounds."

"I can only imagine." Skye says as he pulls out his house key.

"Well of course, little miss richy rich," he smiles at her playfully.

She rolls her eyes, "Shut up and open the door."

Grant chuckles, "Alright, alright." He turns the key in the knob and pushes the door open, allowing Skye to step inside. He walks in behind her and shuts the door, locking it behind him. "Hello?" he calls out into the house, "I'm home."

A second later, the sound of feet hitting the carpeted floor can be heard, along with the call of, "Daddy!"

Grant smiles when he sees Sara rounding the corner and making her way towards him, "Hey bear," he says, moving forward and picking her up in his arms. He hugs her tightly, "Did you have fun with Rebecca?"

She nods her head, "We had a lot of fun."

"Good."

"Did _you_ have fun?"

"Yes I did. But maybe you should see if someone else had a fun time, too."

"Who?" Sara asks.

"Me," Skye speaks up, catching Sara's attention for the first time that night.

Sara's eyes go wide and she smiles, "Skye!" She exclaims, immediately leaning out of her dad's arms and into Skye's.

Skye manages to catch her and hugs her tightly, "It's good to see you too, Sara."

Sara pulls back from the hug and looks at Skye, "Did you have a nice dinner with my dad?"

"I certainly did," Skye smiles, "We went to a restaurant, and guess what?"

"What?"

"We got our own private dinner in the kitchen."

Sara gasps, "Uncle Fitz!" She exclaims with a large smile. "My Uncle Fitz works there, and sometimes he lets me and daddy eat in the kitchen. He's really funny. But he's a sore loser when we play games and I beat him."

"Yes he is," Grant chuckles.

"Skye," Sara says, catching the older woman's attention again, "Do you want to see my favorite game to play with Uncle Fitz?"

"I would love to," Skye replies. She sets Sara down on the floor, and then the two begin to make their way through the house and towards a small hallway.

"Hey Sara!" Grant calls out, getting his daughters' attention.

Sara stops and turns around, "Yeah?"

"Aren't you going to say thank you to Rebecca for babysitting you?"

Sara turns to Rebecca and smiles at her, "Thanks Rebecca!" Then she continues on her quest down the hallway towards the family room.

Grant chuckles and turns to Rebecca with a smile, "Thanks again for watching her tonight," he tells her, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket.

"It was no problem," she says back. "We had a lot of fun."

Grant hands her a few bills, "Have a safe drive home, okay?"

"I will. Thanks." She walks out the front door, closing it behind her. Grant turns around and makes his way down the hallway and into the family room, right next to his bedroom.

"Dad!" Sara exclaims when she sees him walk into the room, "Can Skye read to me tonight?"

"I don't know, bear," Grant says, "I still have to drive Skye home."

"I can read to her," Skye tells him. "I'll just call my driver later to have him come and get me."

Grant smiles, "Okay then. Let's get you up to bed, bear," he lifts Sara off of the floor and hoists her over his shoulder, carrying her like a sack of flour up the stairs. Skye follows after them, watching their interaction with a smile on her face.

* * *

><p>"Did you call your driver?" Grant whispers to Skye as he closes Sara's bedroom door.<p>

"Texted him," she corrects, "He said he'll be here in less than a half hour."

"Cool. Well, why don't we go downstairs and wait in the living room."

"Sure," she replies, walking in front of him down the stairs and into the living. They both sit down next to each other on the couch, a small bit of space between them.

"Skye," Grant speaks up, "I uh, I just want you to know that I had a really great time tonight, at dinner."

Skye smiles gently at him, "I did too."

Grant lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, "You did? Thank goodness. I thought it was just me," he chuckles.

"No, it wasn't just you. I really like you, Grant."

Grant smiles at her, "I really like you too. And I was wondering, if maybe, you'd uh, you'd consider being my girlfriend?" He looks at her shyly. "I mean, I know we've barely met, and you're kinda famous and what-not, and I'm just some random guy. And we've only been on one date, but—"

"Yes," she cuts him off.

"Yes what?" he asks.

She smiles and laughs quietly, "Yes, I'll be your girlfriend."

"You will?" He asks for clarification. "You're not just saying that to shut me up?"

"No," she tells him. "I'm saying yes to being your girlfriend, because I really like you."

He smiles, "Awesome."

"So," she says, "do we make it public that we're together? Or just try and keep things low key for a while, see what happens?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I don't really want to hide from the world. I want them to know that I'm with such an amazing woman. But I also know that if we do announce things to the world, Sara could become a target for the paparazzi, and I don't want that for her. Not right now at least."

"I definitely agree with you, I really do. But I know for a fact, that ever since we met, I haven't really been able to stop thinking about you."

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you either. But uh, what about your parents. Are they going to hurt me or something, if we decide to tell them about us?"

"Well, if I know my parents, and I do. Then if you ever even _think_ about hurting me, they won't hesitate to kill you, or something brutal. Especially my mom. Though they probably won't kill you because you have a daughter."

"Wow. You certainly don't sugar coat it," he says.

"There is no sugar coating when it comes to my parents and their only daughter."

"Believe me, I get where they're coming from. But what about us? What happens now? I know I'm probably not your usual choice of guy."

"You're right," she tells him, "you're not. You're different."

"A good different?"

"A very good different," she smiles. "And I want to see where this," she gestures between the two of them, "goes."

"I want to see too," he tells her.

"Great," she smiles. They just sit there for a moment, in a silence, not an awkward silence, just silence.

A knock at the front door breaks them both out of the reverie and Skye stands up from the couch, "That must be my ride." She steps over to the front door, Grant right behind her, and opens it. Her driver, Mack, is standing on the front porch. "Hey Mack," she smiles at the tall man.

"Hey Skye. Are you ready to go?" He asks her.

"Just give me one more second," she tells him, "Keep the car running."

"Of course," he smiles and then makes his way back to the car.

Skye turns to Grant and smiles, "Well, I guess that this is goodnight."

"Yeah," Grant smiles. He shifts awkwardly on his feet, "We should definitely do this again though, soon."

"I agree," she smiles. Skye leans forward to place a kiss on Grant's cheek, when at the last second, he turns his head and catches her lips in his own. Skye stills for a moment, before relaxing into the kiss. She brings one hand up to rest on Grant's cheek, while the other goes to his side. Grant reaches one hand out and grabs Skye's waist, pulling her just a hair closer, while his other hand tangles itself in her hair.

After a moment, due to the need to breath, they pull apart, resting their foreheads together. "Wow," Skye breathes out, her eyes still closed.

"First kiss, check," Grant smiles.

Skye opens her eyes and smiles back at him, "And it was one heck of a first kiss."

"That it was," he replies, pulling her into a hug. Skye hugs him back, resting her head against his chest. "Text me when you get home, okay?"

She nods her head against his body, "I will."

"Good. I want to know that you're safe at home."

Skye pulls back from the hug and looks up at him, "I'll see you soon."

"Yes you will," he smiles back.

She leans up and presses a small, chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth, before reluctantly removing herself from his warm embrace. She makes her way down the small porch, towards the car, "Goodnight, Grant," she turns and waves at him.

He waves back, "Goodnight, Skye."

* * *

><p><strong>Alright. What did you think? Was the date as great as you hoped it would be? I hope so. Leave me a review down below with your thoughts. :)<strong>

**Also, still looking for people who are interested in my special project for Chloe. If you're interested, let me know.  
>And I am also now starting one for Brett Dalton as well. So hit me up if you're interested. :)<strong>

**Until next time,  
>Jellybean96 out! <strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey babes! New chapter for you all! I hope that you all enjoy this one. I think it's pretty cute. Lots of fluff in here, just sayin. **

**And to the guest who reviewed last chapter, wishing to be included in the project for Brett and Chloe. I would love to tell you more, but I'm gonna need some way to get in touch with you. :)**

**And now, for the chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>*July 4, 2014*<p>

"Good morning," Grant says as he and Sara enter the lounge room of one of the recording booths. He walks up to Skye and leans down, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. Then he sits on the arm of the couch next to her.

"Hey guys," she smiles.

"Hi Skye," Sara smiles, plopping herself down next to Skye on the couch. "What are you doing?"

"Right now I'm just taking a short break before trying to finish this song that I've been writing."

"Cool. Can we stay and watch?"

"Of course you can," Skye smiles, "I'd be sad if you didn't want to."

Sara smiles back and then looks up at her dad, "Dad, did you hear that? We get to stay and watch Skye write one of her songs. This is so cool!" She begins bouncing excitedly in her seat.

"I heard her, bear," Grant smiles. "Now quit bouncing."

"Okay Skye, break time is over," a blond haired man says as he walks into the room. When he sees Grant and Sara, he stops and points in their direction. "Who are they and why are they in here?"

Skye rolls her eyes at the man and stands up, walking towards him, "Relax Clint. That's my boyfriend, Grant, and his daughter, Sara. They're going to sit in while we finish up."

"I don't—"

"Clint," a woman with dark red hair appears in the room, "Stop. If Skye wants them here, then they are welcome to be here."

"Thanks Tasha," Skye smiles at the woman.

"No problem kid," she smiles. "He's just territorial."

"Yeah, I know," Skye snickers. "Grant, Sara, this is Clint Barton, one of the studio engineers. And this is his wife Natasha, my manager."

"Tasha, this is my boyfriend, Grant Ward, and his daughter, Sara."

"It's nice to meet you both," Natasha says to Grant and Sara.

"Your hair is really pretty," Sara says to Natasha.

The woman smiles, "Thank you, Sara. I think your hair is very pretty as well." Sara beams up at her. Natasha turns to Skye and Clint. "Now then, shall we finish this song? I'm sure that these kids have some fun plans for today."

"We're gonna watch _Independence Day_," Sara pipes up from her spot on the couch. "Skye hasn't seen it yet, so dad and I are going to watch it with her."

"Well then I guess it's a good thing she has the two of you to show it to her," she smiles at Sara and then turns to Skye, "Alright Skye, grab your notebook." Skye walks over to a small table, picking up a leather-bound notebook, and then sits down in a chair next to Clint. Natasha takes her place next to Clint at the table to one side of the room.

Clint leans back in his chair and speaks, "Okay. Where were we?"

* * *

><p>"Alright," Grant says as he enters the family room, a bowl of popcorn in his hands, "the popcorn is popped, everyone has their drink. Is the movie ready to go?"<p>

Sara nods her head, "Yep. I skipped over all the previews, so it's on the menu now. We were just waiting for you to get back with the popcorn."

"Good." He takes his place on the couch, sitting down in between Sara and Skye; both girls immediately curl into his side. He smiles at them. "Remote please," he says to Sara. She hands it to him. "Skye," he says to his girlfriend, "Get ready for a wild ride. This movie is amazing. It's a classic."

"It really is," Sara adds. "Dad and I watch it every year, and it never gets old."

"Well then, it better live up to the pretty high expectations you two are setting for it."

"Oh trust me," Grant says confidently, "it will."

"Play the movie then," she says, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth with a smile.

"Your wish is my command," he says, clicking the play button on the remote, the menu disappearing and the opening credits rolling across the screen.

"Dad!" Sara whisper yells, as the movie plays out on the screen in front of them, "The speech! It's time for the speech!"

"I know, bear," he chuckles, "You ready?" She nods her head. They wait for a moment, for the right moment of the movie.

On the screen, the president steps up into the back of a truck, the PA intercom in his hand. _"Good morning," _he says into the intercom. Both Grant and Sara excitedly sit forwards in their seats, ready for their moment.

"Good morning," they recite along with the President, "In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in this history of mankind. 'Mankind.' That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom…Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution…but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in once voice: 'We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!'"

"That was adorable," Skye smiles at Grant and Sara, a hand over her mouth.

"Why thank you," Grant smiles in her direction. "Now back to the movie. It's just getting good."

* * *

><p>"So who's exactly going to be at this party?" Grant asks when Skye enters the living room after having changed into her 'party attire' as she put it. She's wearing a pair of blue, skinny jeans, a thin, red and white striped over shirt, one side of the front is blue with tiny white stars, a matching pocket on the opposite side; a white tank top underneath of it. A red white and blue hair band is wrapped up in her hair, and she has a pair of red and white, thin striped, slip on shoes.<p>

"Most of them will just be people from the Studio;" she tells him, "managers, producers, engineers, signed artists, even the custodial staff is invited. Some of them bring their families along as well. Everyone is really close though, so we usually have a lot of fun." She moves over to the couch an sits down next to him.

"And SHIELD Studios does this every year?"

Skye nods her head, "Yep. Every Fourth of July for as long as I can remember. My parents have been working there since I was a baby, because my dad is long-time friends with Nick. I always hung out there, deciding to stay near my mom because my dad was always busy being a busy working man. I also like to hang out with Clint in the recording booths. Sometimes he'd let me mess around in the booth, just singing random songs. I didn't know it, but he secretly recorded all of the songs I sang. And he showed them to my parents and Nick. I was also putting cover videos on YouTube quite a bit, and people seemed to really enjoy the videos. Then, in my senior year of high school, pretty much everyone in the Studio urged me to pursue a music career when I finished school. I was hesitant at first, but after the huge positive response I got from the people who had already been watching my videos, I decided to give it a shot, and I grew to really love it."

"And now you are one of the most successful singers in the US."

Skye smiles, "Yeah. I guess there's that too."

"I'm ready!" Sara announces as she makes her way down the stairs. She's wearing a pair of red shorts, a white, short sleeved, t-shirt with a faded America flag covering the front. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail, and she's wearing a pair of white flip flops on her feet. "Dad, where's your patriotism?"

Grant looks down at his outfit; a simple pair of blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a white t-shirt. "I thought I looked pretty festive."

Sara sighs, "Fine."

"Great," Grant smiles. "Shall we head out?"

"Yes!" Sara exclaims. "I'm so excited! I love the Fourth of July!"

"Me too," Skye smiles, "and SHIELD Studios throws the best party for the Fourth."

"I can't wait," Sara smiles. "I just wish that Uncle Fitz could come too."

"I know you do, bear," Grant replies. "But he has a big party that he has to cater for. He tried to see if someone else could do it, but the host of the party only wanted him."

Sara sighs, "Okay."

"Don't look so sad," Skye tells her, "This party is going to be really fun."

"I hope so. I've always seen the pictures online from the people who get to go to this party, and I've always wondered how cool it really was."

"Then let's go." Skye stands up from the couch, pulling Grant up as well. She pushes them both towards the front door, "This party is going to be amazing."

* * *

><p>"Whoa," Sara says when they reach the backyard of SHIELD Studios, "this is so cool." There are red, white, and blue streamers hanging in the trees. To one side of the yard, there are tables set up for all of the food. Red, white, and blue paper stars attached string are wrapped around the table in a bunting style. A grill is set up near the tables, already cooking the burgers and hot dogs for consumption. At the other end, there are firework stands set up, ready to be loaded.<p>

"You think so?" Skye asks, swinging her and Sara's entwined hands back and forth.

Sara looks up at her and nods her head, "Uh-huh."

"Well I'm glad," she smiles.

"Skye!"

At hearing her name, she turns around to see a man and a woman walking towards her, smiles on both of their faces. Skye smiles at them, "Lance, Bobbi, how are you guys?" She greets the both of them with a hug.

"We're doing alright," Bobbi replies.

"Except for the fact that I was trying to work on one of my new songs earlier today, and she kept trying to distract me," Lance complains. "Drove me nearly insane."

Bobbi looks at him and smirks, "I didn't hear too much complaining from your end eventually."

"Lance, Bobbi," Skye speaks up before either of them say anything else, "I want you to meet my boyfriend, Grant, and his daughter, Sara."

"It's nice to meet you," Grant says, holding his hand out to the both of them.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Bobbie smiles kindly at him, accepting his hand.

"Yeah," Lance agrees with his wife. "What she said." Bobbi and Skye just roll their eyes.

"Are you Lance Hunter?" Sara asks, looking up at Lance. "The one who sometimes sings on some of Skye's songs?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." He smiles at her. "Are you a fan?"

Sara shrugs her shoulders and the smile falls from Lance's face. Skye, Bobbi, and Grant just chuckle to themselves. Sara turns to look at Bobbi, "You're really pretty," she says with a smile.

"Thank you," Bobbi smiles back, "You are very pretty as well."

"Thanks," Sara smiles.

"Hey Sara," Grant speaks up, "I think there are some games and things over there," he points to one side of the spacious backyard. There is a group of kids already playing together. "Why don't you go and see what's there. Maybe see if some of those kids want to play with you."

"Okay, do you think Bobbi will come play with me?"

"She might if you ask her."

Sara turns to face Bobbi, looking up at her shyly, "Bobbi?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"Will you come and play some games with me?"

"I would love to," Bobbi smiles. She turns to her husband and plants a kiss on his cheek, "I'll see you later," she tells him. She turns back towards Sara and holds her hand out to the little girl. Sara gladly accepts the hand and she and Bobbi walk hand in hand to where all of the toys and games are located.

"I swear mate," Lance starts up, looking directly at Grant, "if my wife starts wanting to have kids because of your girl over there…"

"Oh shut it, Lance," Skye rolls her eyes. "You're married. There is nothing wrong with having kids when you're married."

"Yes, that's true. But we've never really had a real conversation about the whole thing. I think we briefly talked about it when we first got married, but it hasn't really come up since then."

"Okay Lance," Skye says. "Well, we're going to go somewhere else, so I can introduce Grant to more people. See you later."

"Yeah, fine. I need a beer anyways." He turns around and walks away in search of a cold beer.

"Is he always like that?" Grant asks Skye when Lance is out of earshot.

"Pretty much," Skye replies.

"Good to know," Grant chuckles. "Why don't we go find some drinks? I think I'm getting kinda thirsty."

"Follow me then," Skye smiles, holding his hand in hers and pulling him over to where the drinks are laid out on one of the many tables. "Well it looks like we have a few different soda choices, some lemonade, or water."

"There's beer in the cooler over there," someone says from behind them.

Skye turns around to see Tripp standing in front of her, a smile on his face. "Tripp!" She steps forward, wrapping the man in a hug.

He hugs her back, "How are you?"

"Good. You?"

"Doing alright? Who's this guy?" Tripp gestures towards Grant.

"Oh," Skye says, reaching out for Grant to take her hand in his, "Tripp, this is my boyfriend, Grant Ward. Grant, this is Antoine Triplett. He's Jemma's bodyguard."

"It's nice to meet you Antoine," Grant holds his hand out.

Tripp accepts the hand, "Please, call me Tripp. No one really calls me Antoine except for my mama."

"Tripp it is then," Grant smiles at him.

"So how long have the two of you been together?" Tripp asks, taking a sip of his beer.

"Just a couple of weeks," Skye tells him.

"I see," Tripp smiles. He looks at Grant, "So you haven't gotten to see her really wild side just yet then."

"You have a wild side?" Grant smiles with a raised eyebrow at Skye.

Skye rolls her eyes, "I was just a bit stupid when I was younger. Got into a few tiffs here and there."

"A few tiffs?!" Tripp exclaims with a laugh, "That's funny. Because the way that Jemma tells it, most of the stuff you did was way more than just a tiff."

"Let's just stop talking about my younger, idiotic self, okay?" She says to Tripp. "I'd really rather not relive those moments. I just want to enjoy this beautiful summer day, and have fun with all of my friends."

Tripp holds his hands up in a surrender position, "Alright, alright," he smiles, "I won't say another word."

"Thank you," she lets out a relieved sigh.

"But that doesn't mean I won't tell Jemma to tell Grant all your dirty secrets," he says to her as he turns around and walks away.

"Antoine!" She shouts at his retreating back.

"Relax," Grant chuckles, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Sorry," she sighs, "It's just, I really like you. And I don't want your opinion of me to change just because of the stupid stuff that I used to do when I was younger. I'm not like that anymore."

"I really like you too," he tells her. "So believe me when I say that nothing you could have done is going to change any of that. You say that you aren't that person anymore, and I believe you."

She smiles up at him, "Thank you."

"Anytime," he smiles back. "Now, let's go find those beers. I think we both could use one."

"Yes please."

* * *

><p>"Hello, can I have everyone's attention please." Everyone in the yard turns to face the end with the tables, putting all of their attention on the man standing up. He's a tall, African American man, with no hair on his head, and a black patch over one of his eyes. He's wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, and a plain white t-shirt with an American flag in the corner of it.<p>

"Who's that?" Grant whispers in Skye's ear.

"That's Nick Fury," she tells him, "He's the owner of SHIELD Studios."

"Ah. He looks kind of intimidating."

"Everyone thinks that. But he's a pretty big softy when you get to know him."

"For those of you who may not know me," Nick continues, "I am Nick Fury. I want to welcome you all here to SHIELD Studios' annual Fourth of July BBQ and Fireworks show." A bunch of people start cheering. "The fireworks will come a little bit later this evening, when it gets darker. Before I let you all get back to the party, it's time to sing our National Anthem, and then we'll have some food. Like every year, our Anthem will be sung by the very talented, Skye."

"You didn't tell me you were going to be singing," Grant whispers to Skye.

"Surprise," she smiles. She drops his hand and then makes her way over to where Nick is standing. She smiles at him. "Thanks Nick." Turning to face the large group of people in front of her, Skye clears her throat and then opens her mouth to sing.

**O say can you see by the dawn's early light,  
><strong>**What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,  
><strong>**Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight  
><strong>**O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?  
><strong>**And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,  
><strong>**Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;  
><strong>**O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,  
><strong>**O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?**

When she finishes singing, everyone around her cheers. She smiles at them all, "Happy Fourth of July everybody! Enjoy the party and enjoy the food." Then she makes her way back over to where Grant is standing in the grass.

"That was great," he smiles at her, leaning forward to press a kiss to her cheek.

"Thanks," she smiles.

"Hi daddy!" Sara smiles as she runs over to them, a smile on her face. "Great job, Skye."

"Thanks, Sara," Skye smiles. And then she takes notice of the damp shirt Sara is wearing. "Why is your shirt all wet?"

Sara glances down at her shirt and then back up to her dad and Skye, "Water fight." She tells them. "We all ganged up on Bobbi, but then she grabbed the bucket of water and dumped the entire thing on all of us. A couple of us got completely soaked."

"Good for her," Grant says.

"You're supposed to be on my side, dad," Sara tells him.

"Says who?"

"I don't know. You just are."

"I'll let you keep thinking that," he tells her. "Now go and get some food please, before you go back and play. But not too much dessert."

"Okay. Bye dad. Bye Skye."

"Bye," they say at the same time, watching Sara make her way over to the line of people already getting their food.

"Those kids kidnapped my wife," Lance complains as he moves to stand next to Skye.

"What do you mean they kidnapped her?" Skye asks him.

"All afternoon I haven't been able to talk to her because all of those kids wanted her to play with them. I have needs too you know."

"Oh Lance," Skye says, patting him on the back as she and Grant move towards the food.

* * *

><p>"Okay," Nick Fury says from the far end of the yard, "I want to thank everyone who helped to organize this year's Fourth of July Party. It turned out to be a huge success. And now, it is time for what you have all been waiting for. The fireworks show." Everyone in the yard cheers. "So, everyone please get comfortable, there are some blankets on the tables at the back if you want them, and the show will begin in just a few minutes."<p>

Grabbing a blanket off of the table near her, Skye grabs Grant's hand in her own and leads him over to a section of the grass, "This'll be the perfect place to watch the show," she tells him, laying out the blanket. She sits down on the blanket and smiles up at him, "Sit down," she says, patting the spot on the blanket next to her. He smiles and sits down next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her close. She smiles back and leans into his embrace.

"Daddy!" Sara says, running up to them and stopping right in front of the blanket. "Can I sit with Bobbi? She said that I can if you say it's okay."

"Sure," he smiles at his daughter, "go ahead."

"Thanks!" She smiles and then runs over to where Bobbi is sitting in one of the lawn chairs. She climbs up into Bobbi's lap and leans back against her chest, watching the night sky in anticipation.

"She really seems to have taken to Bobbi," Grant points out, watching his daughter talk animatedly with the other woman.

"Bobbi loves kids," Skye tells him, "For as long as I've known her, she's always been really great with any kid she comes across. All the people who work for the studio, they're kids all love her, hence why she was hanging out with them all afternoon. I'm actually surprised that she and Lance don't have any kids of their own yet."

"Give them time," Grant smiles, "I've only just met them, but I'm sure that she'll break him down eventually."

Skye laughs, "Yeah, I can't tell you how many things Lance did that he didn't want to, only because Bobbi asked him to."

"I can only imagine," he smiles.

"Ooh!" Skye says when she sees the men down front beginning to light the many fireworks. "The show's about to start." She leans further into Grant's embrace, tilting her head up to look towards the sky, ready for the fireworks to explode into their beautiful colors.

* * *

><p>"Whoa!" Sara exclaims as a firework explodes in the sky above her. "Bobbi, did you see that one?"<p>

"Yeah," Bobbi smiles, "That one was pretty big."

"I love the Fourth of July," Sara tells her.

"Me too," Bobbi smiles, "The Fourth of July has always been my favorite holiday."

"Christmas has always been my favorite, but this party is one of the best parties I've ever been to."

"I know what you mean about the party," Bobbi tells her as two smaller fireworks explode in the sky. "I've been coming to this party for years, and I always look forward to it. But SHIELD's Christmas party is always fun too."

"Do you think that Skye will invite me and my dad to the Christmas party too?" she turns her head to look back at Bobbi.

"Well I don't see why not." Bobbi tells her. "I think you both would have a lot of fun there. There are always a lot of fun things there. And the food is pretty good too."

"Cool," Sara says, leaning back against Bobbi's chest. "I like you, Bobbi." She says nonchalantly.

Bobbi smiles, hugging the child closer to her, "I like you too, Sara."

From his spot next to them, Lance just smiles at his wife and Sara. Maybe having a kid of his own wouldn't be so bad. So long as the kid was as beautiful as his wife, he'd be fine.

* * *

><p>Hearing a laugh coming from just a little ways in front of her, Jemma looks up to see Skye and Grant curled up together on the grass, watching the fireworks. Skye's head is leaning on Grant's shoulder, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. Jemma smiles at the sight of her best friend, glad that she is so happy. She pulls her phone out of her pocket, sliding the camera icon up. She watches as Grant and Skye both tilt their heads towards each other, sharing a kiss. Just as Jemma presses the capture button, a firework lights up in front of her friends. After she snaps the photo, she looks down at her phone, grinning at the perfect moment she managed to capture.<p>

Unlocking her phone, she goes to her Instagram app, and then clicks on the new photo icon. When it loads, she clicks on the camera roll button, and then selects the photo she just took. Tapping inside the caption box, she begins to type. _Happy Fourth of July to all of my American friends and fans! Hope you're all having an excellent holiday [smiley face emoji] [firework emoji]_. Clicking on the Tag Photo button, she selects Skye's face and then types in her Instagram handle, clicking on it when it appears. Satisfied with what she has done, she looks down at the Share section, clicking on the Twitter button. Then she clicks on the green share button, and waits for the picture to upload itself to Instagram. Once it does, she smiles, locking her phone and slipping it back into her pocket.

"Why are you so smiley?" Tripp whispers in her ear.

She turns to look at him, "Grant and Skye. They look so happy together."

Tripp cranes his neck to get a good look at the couple and smiles, "Yeah. They definitely look happy."

"I can't even remember a time when Skye was happier," Jemma replies. "Even that time when she won her first award. Right now, she is much happier than that."

* * *

><p>Pulling up to the front of Skye's house, Grant shifts the car into park and turns to face her. "I had a really great time tonight, thanks for bringing us along." He glances back at Sara, sound asleep in the backseat of the car.<p>

"Well thanks for coming with, I had a really great time as well. I'm sorry my parents weren't there though, I forgot that they went on a business trip and their flight was delayed, unfortunately. I was really hoping that you could meet them."

"It's fine," Grant says, "I'll just have to meet them some other time."

"Yes you will," she smiles. She leans forward and presses a quick kiss to his lips. When she pulls away she's still smiling, "I'm going to go inside now. To get some sleep."

Grant smiles and presses his own lips to hers, "Okay," he says against her lips. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she whispers, and then reaches behind her to open the car door. Slipping out of the car, she shuts the door and gives Grant a final wave before turning around and walking up to her house. Pulling out her key, she unlocks the front door, steps inside and shuts the door behind her. She tiredly makes her way up the stairs to her bedroom.

Entering her room, she flops down onto her bed, letting out a happy sigh. Today was such a good day, better than most days. It was even somehow a better Fourth of July party, even though it was the same as every other year. Except for the fact that she had a guy she really likes there.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out her phone and unlocks it, going for Instagram. She scrolls through her feed, liking the occasional photo posted by her friends. She stops when she sees Jemma's latest photo from earlier in the evening. It's a picture of her and Grant kissing, with a firework exploding in the background. She shakes her head at her friends' antics, but saves the photo to her camera roll anyways.

When she finishes scrolling, she clicks on the new photo icon, going to her camera roll. She selects the picture that Jemma took and waits for it to load. When it does, she clicks in the caption box and begins typing, _Celebrated the Fourth of July right, with my favorite guy :) (Photo cred: JemmaS)_

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, what did you guys think? Did you like it? I hope you did. Let me know your thoughts in a review down below. I'd love to know what you think.<strong>

**If any of you are curious as to what Skye's outfit looked like, here's the link to it: It's on: polyvore (dot com slash) ****fourth_july / set?id=88222106****Also, Natasha's hair color is the same color she had in Iron Man 2. I just really love that hair color and style on her. It's gorgeous.**

**And, _Independence Day _is a fantastic movie. Definitely worth the watch if you haven't seen it. I watch it every year with my mom, and it truly, never gets old. It's got Will Smith in it, and he's pretty great. :)**

**Until next time,  
>Jellybean96 out!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey babes! So this chapter didn't originally exist until today. I kind of thought about doing this, but didn't actually plan on it until I received a review from a very lovely person, asking if this particular thing would happen. So I made it happen. :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>*July 5, 2014*<p>

**A NEW MAN FOR EVERYONES FAVORITE SINGER?**

**_It's pretty much common knowledge that hit sensation, Skye, has been single for a while. A few years ago a rumor had surfaced, stating that Skye was involved with, Antoine Triplett, a bodyguard employed by Skye's record label SHIELD, but those rumors were quickly shut down. "Tripp and I are just really close friends. He's like a brother to me," the young starlet had said on the matter.  
><em>**

**_Skye's last known long term relationship, with an up and comer in the movie industry, Miles Lydon, had ended very badly for the singer. Since then, Skye has not been seen in any sort of romantic entanglement with any of the men in her life. Which is why a photo that surfaced on her Instagram page just last night has been raising questions, as well as a few theories, from the fans._**

**_In this photo, credit of which is given to her best friend and well-known model, Jemma Simmons, Skye can be seen locking lips with an unknown man (See: photo to the right). There is nothing in this photo that can help to distinguish who this mystery man might be, though that is not stopping her fans from leaving comments all throughout the night, and well into the morning, trying to come up with answers as to who this man is. Some fans think that it might be her ex, Miles; that the two have decided to give it another try, despite the way things ended between them. Others figure that it might be Antoine, that the rumor was true, and they've just been very good at keeping it a secret. Others believe that it is a man who is not in the spotlight at all. Could this mystery man just be another regular person, and not someone in the industry? _**

**_Sound off in the comments below and let us know who you think Skye's new man is._**

Letting out a big sigh, Skye falls back onto her pillow, thinking about the article she just read. Sometimes she wonders if being famous is really worth it. People are always trying to delve deeper into her personal life, so much so, that it gets very irritating, making her want to yell at them all to leave her alone and worry about their own lives. Though, there'd be no use trying to stop being famous at this point in her life, because everyone already knows who she is.

Skye lets out another sigh, reaching over to her nightstand to pick up her phone. Unlocking it, she goes to her contact list. She goes straight to her favorites, selecting Grant's name. She hits the call button, holds the phone up to her ear and waits for him to answer.

"_Hello?" _she hears his voice on the other end.

"Hey," she smiles into the phone, "What's up?"

"_Not a whole lot. Sara's still asleep. I think she's worn out from the party last night."_

"That's completely understandable," Skye replies. "When I was a kid I'd get so worn out from pretty much every SHIELD party that I attended. I hope she had a good time though."

"_I'm sure she did,"_ Grant assures her, _"I think she really enjoyed the fact that other kids actually wanted to hang out with her. She doesn't really get that at school, so I'm sure she had a blast."_

"I'm glad she enjoyed herself. It's too bad that no one at school wants to hang out with her. I can't even begin to imagine what that's like."

"_So I take it that you were pretty popular in school," _Grant states.

Skye shrugs, but then remembers that Grant can't actually see her, "I guess you could say that. I mean, I wasn't like, ultra popular, but I did have my fair share of friends. And I got invited to a lot of parties and things. Plus I did after school activities and things like that. Ooh! Maybe Sara could do a sport or something," Skye suggests, "that might help her make some friends."

"_She actually takes dance classes throughout the year. She really enjoys it. I don't know what the friend situation is like there, but I think she gets along okay with the other kids there."_

"It must be hard," Skye says to him, "Seeing her sad all the time from not having friends, but not being able to do anything about it."

Grant sighs, _"It really is. I just wish there was something I could do."_

"If it makes you feel any better, I think that she and Ace hit it off pretty well at the party last night. At least, that's what Bobbi told me. She was hanging out with all of the kids at the party, pretty much the entire time, and she told me that Ace and Sara were practically glued to the hip for part of the night."

"_You know what, that does actually make me feel a bit better."_

"I'm glad I could help," Skye smiles.

"_So long as Ace doesn't try anything in the years to come, I think I'll be fine with the two of them being friends."_

Skye rolls her eyes, "Relax, Grant. I can promise you that he won't try anything, ever. Mike has been raising him to be a gentleman around girls of any age. And to respect them all, no matter what."

"_He sounds like an excellent father," _Grant says.

"He really is. His wife died when Ace was just a baby, so he's had to raise him alone."

"_It's great to hear of other dads who don't give up on their kids, even when things get rough."_

"I thought you'd like hearing that." There's a brief pause, and Skye speaks again. "Hey, so, I have a question for you."

"_Shoot."_ He tells her.

"Well, I was just wondering if you'd seen this article that just popped up earlier this morning? I'm thinking that you might not have, because I don't think you're the type of person to scour the internet for articles about me and my personal life."

"_No I am not,"_ Grant chuckles, _"What was the article about that surfaced this morning?"_

"Um…it's about you and me. And I don't mean that it's _directly_ about you and me, because no one knows that we're together. But this website used the picture a picture that I reposted from Jemma's Instagram, of the two of kissing last night while fireworks went off, and then they wrote this little article, basically trying to theorize about who you could be."

"_Oh. Okay."_

"You don't have anything else to say about this?" Skye questions him, slightly worried.

"_I didn't think there really _was_ anything else to say. You had to have known that something like this was going to happen eventually, right? If Jemma didn't post that picture last night, it just might have been a little bit longer before people started noticing us hanging out together a lot more."_

"You are taking this really well."

"_Do you want me to start freaking out about it?" _He asks her. _"Because I can do that if you really want me to."_

Skye laughs quietly, "No, you don't need to start freaking out."

"_That's good. Because I don't think there's a real reason to freak out."_

"Okay. So you aren't going to freak out when I suggest that I post a picture of the two of us last night, on my Instagram? That way this whole theorizing thing can stop. Because I really don't know how much more I can take of people commenting on whom I'm dating. Some of the suggestions are ridiculous."

"_It's fine, Skye. I don't mind you posting pictures of us. It just lets the world know that you are, in fact, in a relationship. And a happy one, I might add."_

Skye smiles, "Yes. I am very happy with this relationship. It's different than any of my previous ones, but I'm okay with that. Sometimes it's okay for things to be different, to shake things up a little bit."

"_Then it's settled. You are going to post a picture of the two of us, letting everyone out there know that you are in a happy, and committed relationship. And I am going to change my Facebook status to single, now that I think about it."_

"You haven't done that yet?"

"_No. Have you? Because I distinctly remember us agreeing that we'd keep this all low-key, for a little while. But if you're posting a picture of us, I'm changing my relationship status. As soon as I figure out how to do that."_

Skye giggles, "You're not too good with technology, are you?"

"_I have my limitations."_

"Okay. Well, I'm going to go now, so I can post that picture, and I have a few things that I need to get done. But I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

"_Of course. Bye."_

"Bye."

Ending the call, Skye pulls the phone away from her ear and goes directly to her Instagram app. When it opens, she spends a minute scrolling through her feed, liking the occasional photograph. Once done, she hits the new photo button, and goes to her camera roll, finding a picture from the previous night to post. She scrolls through her pictures, looking for just the right photo to use.

After less than a minute of looking, she finds the perfect photo. It's a shot of the two of them together, from the waist up, taken by someone at the party. Grant's arm is wrapped around Skye's waist, holding her close, and she has both of her arms wrapped around his middle. Skye is looking directly at the camera, a huge, slightly-cheesy smile on her face, while Grant's gaze is directed down at her, a look of pure affection written across his face.

Smiling at the photo, she selects it, and then taps in the caption box once it appears. _For those of you who were curious. :)_ Hitting the 'share to twitter' button, as well as the 'share to facebook' button, she then hits the larger green share button, waiting as the picture loads itself to Instagram.

After a moment, she refreshes her feed, and then decides to look at the comments on her latest picture. She can't help but smile as she reads them.

"_I knew it wasn't Miles! The entire time they were together I knew they weren't right for each other. This new guy looks promising, just look at his face! He's totally into her!"_

"_He's so cute!"_

"_Good job, Skye! Way to land a hot one!"_

"_You guys are adorable together!"_

"_Cute!"_

"_He's so handsome!"_

"_Aww! So happy for you, Skye! I love you! Way to go!"_

"_I don't recognize this guy; he must not be in the industry. But that's okay, cause he's pretty cute, and you guys look great together."_

"_Congrats on the new relationship! You both look really happy together, hope it lasts for quite a while. :)"_

* * *

><p><strong>So? What did you think? You like? Let me know in a review below! Thanks!<strong>

**Until next time,  
>Jellybean96 out!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey babes! Here's the next chapter for you! Hope you enjoy it! **

* * *

><p>*July 7, 2014*<p>

Making her way down the stairs, Sara finds her dad sitting on the couch in the living room, typing on his laptop, the local news playing on the TV. "Hey daddy." She speaks up.

He turns his head to look at her and smiles, "Hey bear. What's up?"

"I have my dance recital next Saturday," she tells him, moving closer to the couch.

"I know," he smiles, "And I can't wait to see what you've been working on."

"Uncle Fitz is coming too, right?" she asks.

"Of course he is," Grant tells her, "he already promised you that he'd be there."

"Okay," Sara moves and sits down next to him, "Well, I have a question."

"And what is your question?"

"Do you think that Skye will want to come to my recital?"

Grant smiles, "You can always ask her and find out."

"Can you ask her for me?"

"Why don't you want to ask her?"

"Because she might say no."

Grant wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her close, "You know what, it would probably mean a lot more to her, if the question came from you."

"I guess so," she shrugs.

"Why don't I call her, and then you can ask her, okay?"

Sara nods her head, "Okay."

Grant smiles at her and then leans forward to grab his phone from the coffee table. He goes into his contacts, scrolling until he finds Skye's number, and then he hits the call button. He waits as the phone rings, and after just three rings, he hears Skye's voice on the other end.

"_Hey handsome,"_ she says to him.

"Hey Skye," he replies with a smile.

"_Why are you calling?"_ She asks him. _"Not that I mind. I'm just curious."_

"Well, I have someone here who wants to ask you a question."

"_Alright,"_ Skye says, _"ask away."_

Grant smiles and hands the phone to Sara, "Ask away," he tells her.

Sara holds the phone up to her ear, and speaks, "Skye, it's Sara."

"_Hey Sara. What's up?"_

"Um, I was wondering, if maybe, you wanted to come to my dance recital next Saturday?"

"_You want me to come to your dance recital?"_ Skye says.

"Yeah," Sara replies.

"_Hmm. I think I remember your dad telling me that you take dance classes. How long have you been dancing?"_

"I've been in classes since I was three."

"_That's awesome. What time is your performance?"_

"It's at 7."

"_Hmm. 7 o'clock next Saturday. I will definitely be there."_

Sara smiles wide, "Really? Yes! Thank you, Skye!"

"_You're welcome, Sara."_

"I can't wait for you to see me dance."

"_I can't wait either,"_ Skye says.

"Also," Sara continues, "I was wondering if you could ask Jemma if she wants to come too."

"_You know what, I'm sure she would love to come and watch you dance. But she's going to be in New York that weekend for a photo shoot."_

"Oh," Sara says, "Okay."

"_But I will tell her that you invited her. Alright?"_

"Okay."

"_Good. Now give me back to your dad, okay?"_

"Okay," Sara says, "bye, Skye."

"_Bye, Sara."_

Sara pulls the phone away from her ear and holds it out to her dad, "Here dad."

"Thanks. Now go and unload the dishwasher please."

Sara huffs, "Fine."

Grant watches her walk towards the kitchen, and then he puts the phone to his ear, "Hey."

"_Hey yourself," _she says back.

"So you're going to come to Sara's recital next week?"

"_Yep,"_ she says, _"I'm really looking forward to it."_

"Well, you are in for a real treat."

"_I'm hoping so." _She smiles into the phone.

* * *

><p>*July 12, 2014*<p>

"Do you see her?" Grant asks Skye and Fitz as they all stand at the back of the auditorium, Grant and Skye's fingers intertwined together. They are all craning their necks above the large sea of people, trying to locate Sara.

"No." Fitz says, "I can't spot her."

"Neither can I," Skye says, "She's so small that she gets lost within the crowd."

"Tell me about it," Grant says. The three of them continue looking for Sara, before Grant finally spots his daughter, also looking around the auditorium for the three of them. "Oh, there she is," Grant says to Skye and Fitz. "Sara!" He calls out into the crowd, waving his hand into the air to try and catch her attention.

Sara looks up in their direction and smiles, "Dad! Skye! Uncle Fitz!" She rushes over to them and jumps straight into her dad's arms, hugging him tightly.

"You were great out there, Sara," he tells her, placing a kiss to her cheek.

"Thanks daddy. Uncle Fitz?" She turns her head towards her Uncle.

"Do I really have to say it, Sara? You were absolutely remarkable."

"Thanks. Skye, what did you think?" She looks to the woman she admires and has a hopeful smile on her face.

"I think that you did very well," Skye smiles at her, "You have a real talent for dancing."

"You really think so?" Sara asks with a happy smile.

"I know so," Skye tells her. "Now, it could just be me, but I think that we should go out and celebrate."

"Can we dad?" Sara asks, looking at him expectantly.

"I don't see why not," He says. "A great performance deserves an even greater reward."

"Can we get ice cream?"

"Of course. There's nothing better."

"Yes!" Sara exclaims. She jumps out of her dad's arms and begins making her way to the front door of the auditorium.

"Sara!" Grant calls after his daughter, but to no avail. He turns to his friend, "Fitz?"

"Uncle Fitz is on it," he replies, giving a small salute and then begins chasing after his niece.

Skye lets out a small laugh, "He really is into this whole Uncle thing. I love it."

Grant smiles, "Yeah. And Sara really loves him, so it all works out great in the end."

"That's really great," she smiles up at him. She grabs his hand in her own, linking their fingers together again, "Now, let's go and get some ice cream."

* * *

><p>"Hey Fitz?" Grant speaks up as he walks out of Sara's bedroom, "Would you mind staying with Sara for a little while? She's already asleep, but I want someone here in case she wakes up or something. I'm just going to go and take Skye home."<p>

"Yeah, no problem man," Fitz claps him on the back, "and if you don't come back home tonight, I think I'll know the reason as to why. Just be sure to be careful, yeah?"

Grant's eyes go wide, "Really Fitz? I can't believe you're actually trying to have this talk with me."

Fitz shrugs, "If I don't do it, then who's going to?"

Grant sighs, "Whatever. Thanks again for this man."

"Like I said, it's no problem. I don't have work in the morning. Now go, take your girl home, and possibly stay there. If ya want."

"Goodbye Fitz!" Grant calls as he walks towards the front door and out to the car.

* * *

><p>"Here we are," Grant says as he pulls into the driveway of Skye's parents' house. He shifts the car into park and turns it off, proceeding to climb out of his side of the car. He walks around to the other side of the car, opening Skye's door to allow her to step out.<p>

"Hey, thanks for coming to her show tonight," Grant says to Skye as they approach the front door of her house; Skye pulls her keys out of her purse.

"It was no problem; I had a lot of fun," Skye tells him, unlocking her front door. "Sara is really talented."

"Yeah, she is. She was really happy that you came, you know. She really likes you."

"And I really like her too; she's a pretty great kid."

"I really mean that, though. I've dated a few other girls before, and Sara was never, well, she never acted the way she does around you, around them."

"Well I'm honored." She tells him.

"I'm just worried," he says quietly, "that if things between us don't work out, she's going to be hurt the worst. And I don't want to do that to her."

"Hey," she says, placing a hand on his cheek, "you have nothing to worry about. Because I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon."

"Really?"

She smiles and nods her head, "You're stuck with me."

"I think I can live with that," he smiles.

"That's good," she says, stepping closer to Grant. She runs her hands up his chest as she bites her bottom lip between her teeth, looking up at him through her eyelashes. With one swift movement, not wanting to wait any longer, Grant grabs her wrists in his and pushes the both of them backwards into her house, turns them around and pushes her back up against the door, slamming it shut.

Before either of them can say anything else, Grant crashes his lips against hers, desperate, hungry, needing more. He traces his tongue across her bottom lip, asking for entrance which she gives him just a moment later. Using one of his hands, Grant grabs Skye's hips and pulls her body as close to his own as he can, deepening the kiss.

Skye kisses him back after she gets her bearings, pouring her own passion and energy into the kiss. When he finally releases her other wrist, she uses it and her other hand to run her fingers through his hair, while both of his hands continuously pull at her hips, wanting her closer.

"I really should get back to Sara," Grant says as he attacks Skye's neck in hungry kisses, leaving his mark.

"Fitz is there," Skye moans out, tilting her head back to give him more access to her body.

"And I don't think your parents will be too happy about us doing this here. Especially your dad," he says as he kisses back up the trail he just made.

"I'm a grown woman," Skye says, jumping up to wrap her legs around his waist, "Plus, mom and dad are both working late, so what they don't know won't hurt them."

Grant smiles against the hot skin of her neck, "I like the way you think," he says slowly into her skin, sending shivers up Skye's spine, making her moan again.

"Why don't we move this to the bed in my room?" Skye suggests, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer.

Grant looks up at her and smiles. He places his hands on her thighs, holding her in place before he turns around and carefully walks them up the stairs. Skye points out which room is her own and he walks them into the room, and to the bed, all the while maintaining contact with her lips.

When he reaches the bed, he leans them down slowly, allowing Skye's back to touch the soft mattress. While kissing her deeply, he runs his hands down her sides, until he reaches the hem of her shirt. Slowly, he moves his fingertips underneath of the hem, teasingly drawing small circles on either of her hips with his thumbs.

"Grant," Skye whispers.

Smirking, Grant uses both of his hands to lift Skye's shirt up and over her head, tossing it to the floor behind him. He pulls back for a mere moment to admire the sheer beauty of the woman beneath him. "What are you staring at?" Skye asks him, confused.

"You are so beautiful," he tells her honestly, "and I thank the stars every night that I was the one you chose to get those tickets."

She smiles at him, "Then why don't you show me just how thankful you are," she says, grabbing his head in her hands and pulling him back down to her, pressing their lips together.

"I think I can do that," he says against her lips.

* * *

><p>*July 13, 2014*<p>

Skye's eyelids flutter open slowly, the bright sunlight coming in from the window, shining directly onto her. As she wakes up, she reaches her arms out to stretch, when she feels something wrapped tightly around her body.

Confused at first as to what could be in her bed, the memories of the night before come rushing back to her mind and she can't help but smile and then blush just a little. Turning slowly, she looks to see none other than Grant Ward, her boyfriend, lying beside her.

"Good morning," Grant says, his eyes still closed.

"Morning," Skye whispers back, a smile on her lips.

Grant opens his eyes and looks at Skye, seeing the way that the sunlight hits her just right, making her look like an angel. "So," Grant says.

"So," Skye repeats.

"Last night happened," he tells her.

"Yeah, it did," she smiles.

"You were really great, by the way," he tells her. "Really great."

"Likewise," she smiles. "Especially that part when you…"

"So you liked it?" he asks her.

She shakes her head, "Immensely. What about when I…"

"That was fantastic," he says. "I didn't know that was even possible."

"Well, it is possible."

"And I'm glad that it is," he smiles, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

He pulls her closer and shifts down, resting his head gently on her body, right below her bra covered breasts. He holds her close, listening to her heartbeat. Skye smiles down at him, gently running her hands through his hair. He smiles at the gesture, tilting his head slightly to place a kiss to her smooth skin, letting his lips linger for a short moment.

A soft buzzing noise breaks the both of them out of their happy world. Grant lifts his head off of Skye's body to look around, trying to deduce where the sound is coming from.

"What is that?" Skye asks him.

"I think it's my phone," Grant replies. Climbing off of the bed, he walks over to where his pants were shed onto the floor the night before. Reaching into one of the pockets of his pants, he pulls his phone out, seeing Sara's picture on the caller id. Hitting the answer call button, he holds the phone up to his ear. "Hey bear," he says into the phone. "Good morning."

"_Morning, dad. Where are you?"_

"I stayed at a friends' house last night," he tells her.

"_Did you stay at Skye's house?"_

"Why—why would you think I stayed at Skye's house?" He asks his daughter, while tossing his eyes up to look at Skye.

"_That's what Uncle Fitz said."_

"Uncle Fitz told you," he replies with a sigh.

"_Yeah. I got up and you weren't here, but Uncle Fitz was. So I asked him where you were, and he hesitated, but then he said Skye's house."_

"He's right, bear. I'm at Skye's house."

"_When are you going to be home?"_

"I don't know. I figured I'd just stay over here for a little while longer, give you some quality time with your Uncle."

"_Really?"_

"Yeah," he smiles.

"_Thanks daddy."_

"You're welcome, bear. I'm going to hang up now, okay?"

"_Okay. Love you."_

"I love you too."

Hanging up the call, he slips his phone back into his pants pocket, letting them fall back onto the floor. Turning around, he makes his way back over to Skye's bed, crawling back onto it and immediately pulling Skye into his arms.

"Was that Sara?" Skye asks him as he resumes his previous position of laying his head on her chest.

"Yeah," he replies.

"And she knows you're here?"

"Mm-hmm."

"She doesn't know why, does she?"

"Not that I know of," he tells her. "Then again, she is a lot smarter than she lets on."

"Okay, cause I mean, I'm fine with her knowing that we're dating, but if she knew that we just had sex, that'd probably scar her. For a while."

"Yeah, you're right." He tilts his head up to look at her, "So, Sara is going to be spending some quality time with Fitz today, which means we have many, many more hours to ourselves. What do you propose that we do today?"

Skye smiles down at him, "Hmmm…" she leans down and ghosts her lips across his, "I'm sure we'll think of something."

* * *

><p><strong>So? Did you like it? Let me know your thoughts in a review down below. <strong>

**Until next time,  
>Jellybean96 out!<strong>


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